Don't Catch a Cold
by Brandon T
Summary: Abe is a boy with an overprotective mother, a spunky grandma, and big dreams he's afraid to follow. Starting out on a journey is never easy. Hell, the journey isn't. But he's leaving home and heading out. He'll find heartache, fear, and hopefully himself.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, hello, hello! I've been doing a lot of Pokemon Roleplay recently and I've been reading a great deal of fanfiction. Big shout out to Lyokoluva's Sinnoh Legacy (it is love). Where was I? Oh. Yes. I've been doing a lot of writing and reading, but I've never actually written Pokemon Fanfiction before. So. I decided to take a stab at it. This is my first attempt, as I said, and I would appreciate all of the feedback you guys are willing to give. First chapter's written a bit awkwardly and I hope that'll pass as I add more and more chapters. Wrote this in one sitting so there might be a whole host of issues and... WOOO. I'mma stop now and let you guys get to reading. But fiiiiiirst:

**I do not own Pokemon. It belongs to someone else. However, the characters within this story are mine, copyright to me. Do not take them, I will cry. A lot.**

Also. This fiction might include some made up places, but never made up Pokemon (that's not how I roll) or people with special powers, it always unnerves me to read that. However, I will try my best to keep things interesting. May contain bits of slash (that is, homosexual relationships) here and there. Dunno yet. Still mapping it all out in my head. THROW ME IDEAS AND I WILL USE THEM WITH CREDIT TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. AIM at pyruvicxxacid or MSN me at . I think that's it. Enjoy. And leave me reviews!

* * *

"P-P-Pokemon?"

Large, incredulous blue eyes peered at the older man. There was a table between the young boy to whom the eyes belonged and the elder gentleman, but a veritable chasm of experience and life lessons separated them. As far as the boy was concerned, they were on two completely different planets here because he had just come to drop off a basket of baked goods from is grandmother, not pick up a Pokemon. He didn't have the slightest idea of how to even pet one without it biting him! And this guy wanted to give him one to train and take care of? Certainly not. Definitely not.

"Yes."

The boy's mouth sagged a bit lower, plump red lips separated in shock and dismay. Had he done something wrong to lead the man on in thinking that he had come to get a starter so that he could leave on some epic journey and save the world? Oh no, if he had then he would have to apologize straight away. He was not that kind of person; he could barely get out of bed in the morning without stubbing his toe or clunking his head, how could he ever be expected to survive on his own long enough to journey anywhere? Disbelief colored his face. Just what in the heck was this guy playing at?

"I... I... I'm afraid I don't understand... I just came to–"

"Drop off the basket, yes, I'm aware." The boy flinched when he professer shifted in his seat, adjusting his tie in mild, amused frustration. Soon, he was sitting with his hands folded neatly on top of his knee and one leg placed casually over the other. Cutting green eyes stared out from beneath neatly trimmed brown eyebrows that were just beginning to show hints of gray. He was a handsome man, even at his age, but frequent squinting had lead to his dependence on glasses to see properly. A shame for the boy that the wire-framed spectacles did little to diminish the challenging heat of the man's gaze.

The man's lips twitched briefly before they melted into a benevolent, kind smile. How many trainers had he seen come through these doors, engines blazing and eyes afire, ready to take the world by storm? More than a few, that was for sure. Far too many to count. And how many demure boys and girls had he coaxed into it the life of a trainer? Again, more than he had fingers to count. And each time, they came back, tail between their legs, crying pitifully because they couldn't make it. This boy's lack of confidence was refreshing if not somewhat vexing.

"You are... reluctant. I can understand that," he said without looking at the boy, smoothing down the papers on his desk instead. His voice was soft, gentle, but there was a firm deteremination it. This was going his way, that minor intonation said, and it made the boy squirm in the leather chair as if it were filled with nails and tacks. Cautiously, the professor slid a hand across the polished cherry wood desktop and set it on the boy's knee. "Please. Calm down, boy. You'll break my chair."

The boy's face immediately grew flushed at this and he dipped his head before it could be seen again. The professor simply sighed and fully stood, sliding his chair into the desk and walking across the room to where a large stand filled with Pokeballs stood. Lightly, he tapped his lips with his index finger, not entirely unaware of the set of large blue eyes burning holes into his back, and tried not to smile at the poorly disguised attempts at stealth. Undoubtedly, this boy would not last a day out there if given something flashy and too outgoing. A frown darkened the Professor's face.

"Abe, you said your name was?"

Suprised by the professor's voice, Abe squeaked an affirmative.

"Good. Now, Abe. Please come here." Again, the professor spoke without looking at Abe and the boy quickly scrambled out of his chair, almost knocking it over, before rushing to the professor's side. Already, he had forgotten his protests and seemed to be quite amendable to the idea of getting a Pokemon of his very own. It brought a wry, almost sardonic grin to the man's face. How easily distracted and fickle children were these days. How very fickle indeed.

Abe's sudden change of heart made him want to know why he had spent the last hour or so trying to convince the boy of medium height and build with incredibly blond hair and startling blue eyes that he had no reason to panic and that Pokemon were in fact quite beneficial to humans. As his fingertips glided over each glossy red surface, the professor's mind wandered back to the moment Abe had first stammered and stumbled his way into the lab, holding up the frayed basket as if it was going to ward off anything that got near him. He'd had to basically pry it out of the boy's hands before getting down to the matter of discussing Pokemon.

Inwardly, he was going to have to have a talk with Abe's grandmother the next time he saw her for not warning him that the boy was so high-strung and tightly wound.

"Yes. This will do for you," the professor spoke suddenly, apparently frightening Abe because the boy almost jumped out of his skin with the professor turned to speak to him. Shrewd but amused eyes took in the sight of flushed cheeks and widened eyes for a moment or so before he moved forward with the selected Pokeball in hand. "If you would please give me a moment..." The professor's voice dipped low as he slipped around Abe and returned to his desk where he promptly began pressing buttons.

Several buttons. In rapid succession. Abe almost became dizzy watching the professor's hands as they darted over the keyboard, hammering out a melody of cold, calculating precision. Awkwardly, he fumbled with the edges of his t-shirt while trying to keep down the warm sense of anticipation that kept trying to crawl up his stomach into his throat. He figured if he didn't let himself think about it, he couldn't get overexcited and do something really embarassing. Now that would have been just... unbearable. Still! How exciting was this?

When he had set out earlier that day, he hadn't dared to dream that by the end of the night, he would be a trainer! A trainer! Oh, he had always wanted to be a trainer, but with his ineptitude in trainer school and his general lack of self-confidence... well, he hadn't held on to the illusions that he'd ever make it. But now look at him! Abe bit his bottom lip, trying to stifle an excited squeal when the Professor gave a soft, 'aha, done!' And he was even able to look somewhat less mortified when the man turned fully on him with a wide grin and held out the Pokeball for him to take.

"So! You have your first Pokemon now. How do you feel, Abe?"

A swirling, empty feeling suffused his head the moment he felt the cold material of the Pokeball against the palm of his hand. The feeling grew to be very intense when he rolled the orb around, feeling it for the first time and trying to memorize its every curve and touch. How did he feel? A rather good question, actually. He had no idea how he felt. Slowly, he let his gaze touch the professor's and sighed weakly.

"I feel kinda funny actually... kind of like I'm going to–"

"Abe, no!" The professor's plea came too late as Abe pitched forward and painted a rather interesting picture all over his floor and shoes. Unfortunately, the boy missed the garbage can some six inches away from where the first splash had occured. The professor would have liked to say that this was the first time this had happened. Sadly, it wasn't. He still hadn't gotten all of the stains out from when he'd given that Diem boy his first Pokemon a little over a month ago. A shudder raced through his body as he ran his hand lightly Abe's back, ushering the boy to the restroom.

"There, there, Abe. We'll get you all cleaned up..."

--

Abe's ears prickled at the squelch of skin on skin. He had just smacked his forehead for what felt like the hundredth time (because it was starting to feel numb up there) for throwing up all over the professor's shoes like he was some kind of kid going on a scary ride for the first time. He hadn't -ever- been on a scary ride so this whole vomiting thing was still very new to him; Abe felt terribly about what had happened, evidenced by his self-mutilation, but that couldn't bring down the light, airy sense of giddiness he felt when he squeezed the Pokeball in his pocket. Normally, his pockets were loaded with lint, rubber bands, and paper clips, but today they actually had important things inside of them: a Pokedex, a few empty Pokeballs that the Professor had scrounged around and found for him, and most importantly, the Pokeball that carried his very first Pokemon inside of it.

It was all rather exciting, to the point that he wanted to leave the dirt path that led up the hill to his house and dance in the twlight with the Volbeat and Illumise. Bathed in the scarlets and golds of sunset, the world had come to life again now that it was safe from the hottest part of the day and Abe could see Pokemon emerging slowly from their hiding places along the short path that lead to home. Sentret and Zizagoon played in the grass, but scurried away when his gaze strayed to them, and there were a few Oddish coming out to stretch their legs in the sunset, ready to bathe in the moonlight and dance beneath the stars. Abe had for the most part of his life suffered from a deep-running fear the dark and so was not overly fond of lingering on the path when doing so meant he'd get caught by nightfall, but the urge to release his Pokemon was again starting to get the better of him.

He had promised himself that he would not do so until he got home, when he could share the moment with his mom and grandma, but he wanted, almost painfully, to find out what the professor had given him and it would only take a few minutes and... warily, he glanced at the sloping, grassy knoll where his home, a small little rural town that lay between Twinleaf and Sandgem, was. Just a few minutes, he told himself. Just a few minutes and he would tuck the little guy... or girl away into the safety of the Pokeball until he got home.

Nervous, twitching fingers found their way into his pocket and extracted the Pokeball. In the dying daylight, it seemed to glow and he took several long glances at it before he managed to blink and sever the spell it had placed over him. He slowly, because he really had no desire to break it, pressed the button at its center once to enlarge it–he very nearly dropped it then out of surprise–and then again to make it pop open.

Immediately, he regretted doing so because a shower of white light streamed upward and arched away from him, spilling on to the ground below. He had never once witnessed anything that was at once terrifying and breahthtakingly beautiful and watching as the light morphed itself into something made his stomach churn and flop. Oh no! Had he done something wrong? What was going on here? Doing something wrong was a very distinct possiblity. Memories of breaking Pokeballs were painfully fresh in his mind and tears, his constant companion, welled up in the corners of his eyes. He'd broken it; this was it, his life was over!

And in the two seconds it took for him to open the ball and for the light to cease its dancing, he had already failed miserably as a trainer. Or not. The light was thrown off in a sea of sparkles as a solitary cry went up, 'Poli!'

Abe stared blankly down at the blue, circular body, large, soulful eyes, pink, pouty lips, and swirling black line that stood out so well against a white belly. And doe-eyed and wonderstruck, the creature stared back at him. It only had two limbs, feet, if you didn't count its tail and Abe was starting to wonder if this was some kind of joke. Poliwag. His studies told him that it was a water type and lived amphibiously. That was all he knew. But, then again, that was all he needed to know. Poliwag meant one thing and one thing only, the professor didn't really trust him.

They were given out to those who were a bit... less gifted in the training department, his teacher had droned on and on a couple of years ago. Everyone in the class had promptly turned to him and laughed. He hadn't wanted a Poliwag. Of all the Pokemon in existence, why the one that most symbolized his immeninent failure as a trainer and his shortcomings as a person? Why? A sad frown creased his face as began dragging his feet toward the hill. Poliwag, somewhat confused by all of this, followed tentatively at first.

It called to Abe. He didn't listen. It called again when they reached the hill. He didn't listen. So it promptly began to cry, flopping down at the base of the hill as Abe began the trekk upward. That got his attention and he whirled about, staring down at his starter with a baffled expression.

"What?" He didn't see a problem. It's tears escaped its body in a steady stream and only grew more insistent and strident when it heard Abe's voice. "Come on! What's wrong with you?" The frustration was clear in his voice and Poliwag responded by letting loose another scream, it's tiny body contracting again and again from the effort it took to belt out those cries. Abe threw his hands over his ears and slid down the hill, angrily muttering to himself the whole way, and when he reached it, he crouched down and attempted to soothe the poor little creature.

"Come on... come on... you'll dehydrate yourself if you keep it up."

More water cut through the air and the Poliwag's cries cut Abe through to his heart. It wasn't Poliwag's fault that he was having trouble, was it? Could he honestly blame the creature for being born? He could, but it wouldn't do him any good. "I'm sorry, Poliwag... I am." Abe's voice grew calm and sincere. Ashamed of what he'd done, he stroked its slimy, damp skin and didn't even retch! Some things just didn't face the curly-haired blond boy with the button nose. Slime being one of them, apparently.

Poliwag sniffed and struggled to its feet as Abe picked it up into his arms and this time, they made it up the hill together.

Slowly, he made his way toward his house, the smallest house in all of town, and with his Poliwag napping in his arms. He was still unhappy with what he'd been given to start his journey with. But that was just something he would have to deal with.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back. Yes back. Chapter 2! Yaaaay! I 3 anyone who reads this. Cookies to reviewers. YES. Abe will get something big and scary later on so that he can be all, "OH NO WHAT DO I DO NOW?!" Yes. Other suggestions are welcome as well. This story grows as I grow. Yeah, yeah. Enjoy!

Also.** I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Abe stepped on to his back porch with an arm full of Poliwag. He had tried all along the way to set it down, but each time he had stooped to place it on the ground, it had promptly begun to cry and all sorts of terrible sounds with its mouth. How such a little, adorable creature was capable of creating such a disturbance, he didn't know, but he was starting to think that he would never have full use of his arms ever again. Poliwag showed no signs of wanting to be put down and refused to let Abe put it down so things didn't look so good for Abe's future. It all only served to increase his annoyance at matters. Not only had he been duped into getting the one Pokemon he honestly didn't want, but now it wouldn't listen to him? Weren't the little creatures supposed to do whatever you told them to do? Maybe taking Poliwag back to the professor was not such a bad idea. After all, they would both be happier. Abe wouldn't be able to make Poliwag cry and Poliwag wouldn't remind Abe of the endless taunting he'd endured growing up. Yes, that seemed like a happy arrangement indeed.

He tilted his head downward and stared at the dozing little lump that was snuggled up against his now damp chest. His heart constricted almost painfully at the thought of separation now. What was this? A half-hour's walk and he was already starting to become attach? Ah, so that's how it worked, was it? They look up at you with big, dopey eyes and make cute, gurgling noises and then, bam, you were hooked. Goodbye freedom, hello trainer-hood. Well, Abe was not going to be fooled so easily, not a chance of that. Refusing to be taken in for another ride on the big-eyed, sympathy-card express, Abe cleared his throat and abruptly turned his attention to the door. A sly smile crept across his lips and he stepped over the creaking back step before drawing nearer to the doorway.

There were four square windows located near the top of it and golden light streamed from the kitchen to the outside. The glass was somewhat dusty from the outside looking in, Abe noted while crinkling his nose. It wasn't the dust that bothered him, just the fact that his mom was more than likely going to make him clean it the next day. Along with who knew what else! Chores, he had decided a long time ago, were not his favorite things in the world; in fact, they were his least favorite things ever and the only things that ever made him wish he had siblings. Then he'd have someone else around to help lessen the load.

Heresy. Dividing the work meant dividing the attention and if there was one thing Abe loved, it was his mom's attention. He'd just have to accept the fact that it came at the price of cleaning dirty windows and pulling weeds out of the garden. Just then, his mom moved by the door to get to the sink, her white sun dress billowing with each step she took. Theresa Aberdine was a pretty woman. Long red hair, bright blue eyes, and creamy, pale skin; a real, natural beauty is what Abe had heard her called, much to his pleasure. It always brought a smile to his face to hear people say nice things about his mom. As if they were somehow, indirectly, complimenting him as well.

Indirect compliments were the only ones Abe ever got and he was more than eager to take them too! But as it was, he was pressing his lightly freckled nose up against the dusty glass, peering through it into the kitchen, trying to locate his mom. She was at the sink like he'd thought, and he grinned as he crept along the outer wall of their tiny house over toward the large rectangular window that was situated in the wall right in front of the sink. Crouching down so she couldn't see him, he set Poliwag's sleeping form down on the wooden floor and then prepared to pounce.

"Hi mom!" Theresa's eyes immediately widened as she dropped the cup she had been rinsing to the floor in fright, hand going to her chest to stop her rapidly beating heart. Abe relished the scene before him like a thirsty man eying a well: soap flew everywhere from when she had jerked her hands out of the water, dishes wobbled dangerously near the edge of the counter, and his mom was paler than she normally was. All-in-all, it was a successful prank and the mischievous sixteen year old felt proud of his efforts. It wasn't often that he got a one-up on her and he soaked in the moment, oh yes.

"Abe!" Her voice cracked like thunder and her eyes flashed angrily. "You... You..." Her soapy finger wagged in admonishment and she set the other damp hand up on her hip, staring down a straight nose at him with wild blue eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a single braid, but it's copper-colored strands flew out and stuck out at odd angles, a testament to their curly nature. But for all of her fire-and-brimstone appearance, there was no real menace in her voice and Abe knew it. He was standing there with his arms folded and braced against the window sill, the window being raised to let in the cool evening air and let out the heat she'd stirred up while cooking. Not a care in the world. He didn't have the decency to look afraid. She dind't mind, though. Never did.

"So..." The grin was back in his voice–not that it had ever left–and his gaze actively roamed around the room, for the moment skipping over his mom as he tore the room apart with his eyes.

"So..." Theresa continued, sweeping away the shards of glass on the floor. "She's out front, but before you go–" She took the chance that he might still be standing there and looked up even though she knew he wouldn't be. Sighing and shaking her head, she wasn't surprised, she smiled to herself and resumed her sweeping. What a boy she'd raised. Didn't even bother to ask her how her day had gone or whether or tell her that he'd gotten his first Pokemon.

--

Briskly, Abe turned around the corner of the house and bounded into the front yard with both hands on his hips. His alert blue eyes immediately began prowling around for what he was after and when they didn't find it... well, he felt a little disappointed. He'd been so excited to hear that she was still here that his hopes had immediately leapt through the roof, but now reality brought them crashing down. What if his mom had been trying to tell him that she'd been in the front yard about to go and he had somehow missed her? Abe pouted as he stalked further into the yard, the dry grass crunching beneath his feet as he went. It hadn't taken him -that- long to get around front, had it?

No. It hadn't. Confusion and annoyance warred for dominance over his face as he continued walking until he reached the front steps and threw himself on to them, not even sparing the house a second glance. He was sprawled over them, his eyes attentive to the road and his features torn somewhere between a scowl and a simpering pout. The dust of the day was just beginning to settle and the stars were brighter than ever in the inky blackness of the night.

Rather soothing, actually, if he wasn't mildly terrified of it all. Add that to his disappointment at getting a Poliwag and he was ready to go to bed and pray that this all turned out to be some kind of terrible dream. What he needed was his grandmother. A shame she had for some inexplicable reason decided that now was a good time to learn how to vanish. A dissatisified snort left his nose and a dull pain formed at the base of his neck almost simultaneously. The result was him nearly choking on the very air he was expelling through his nose.

"What did I tell you about that, Abe? You've got no more manners than a Pilowine!" A dry, crackling voice sounded behind him and Abe nearly tumbled off the steps in his haste to turn around. He ended up flopping on his belly rather painfully and staring up at the porch that had suddenly been drenched in a yellow light. His grandmother stood there with silver hair pulled in a bun and light green eyes narrowed into menacing slits. Unlike his mother, his grandmother was -very- intimidating and never failed to get an immediate response.

"Sorry, grandma... I thought you'd left!" His excitement was evident and his grin contagious because soon they both sported identical smiles and he'd scrambled up to the porch to hug her. She smelled of sweet grass and flour; it smelled like home to Abe and brought to mind images of cookies and brownies and breads and rolls and pastries and...hey! That's right! Pulling away from her, he gave her a probing stare. "You tricked me!"

She batted his accusing finger away and shrugged.

"I bent the truth."

"You lied to me!"

"Don't say that word, it's rude." Snatching said finger, she gave it a good wrench and made him howl in pain.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Abe leapt from foot-to-foot, whimpering until she released the offending digit and dusted her hands on her apron.

"At any rate... hm... can you say you're dissatisfied with the result?"

He paused in blowing gently on his finger as if she'd burned him instead of bent his finger and licked his lips. "Actually... yes. I... Grandma, he have me a Poliwag!"

Abe was surprised to see her smile. What? Didn't she feel as outraged as he did? Was she on the professor's side in thinking that he was too inept to get something a bit less... well, boring? His eyebrows furrowed into a tight frown and he huffed, sticking out his chest in righteous indignation that he knew he had a right to feel. "I can't believe this, grandma! You agree with him!"

"Now, Abe... Poliwag are fine Pokemon..."

"Cute too," his mother announced as she arrived on the porch, cuddling the Poliwag Abe had forgotten out back. At least he'd tried to forget but out of sight was definitely not out of mind. He scowled at it as it snuggled deeper into the protection of his mother's arms, hiding from the scathing glare its trainer was giving it.

"Aberely Icarus Aberdine! Stop that!" His grandma's hand stung him in the back of his head and he turned to her, but gave a substantially smaller version of the glare he'd given Poliwag.

"Cute! Cute! Cute! Yes. That's exactly what I want! A -cute- Pokemon!" His words were venomous and flung sarcastically at Poliwag as he stormed into the house, away from them all. Boys didn't train cute Pokemon! They just didn't! Tears clung to his eyes as he slammed his bedroom door closed and immediately begun peeling off his damp T-shirt.

It was an ordinary shirt. A pastel green, it was hardly worth noticing. But the wet spot on the front drew his attention and held it .Images of Poliwag sleeping curled into his chest emerged from the darkness of his mind, stroking his foul mood cautiously, but insistently. He could learn to love it, reason whispered. He could teach it and keep it safe and make it healthy and strong, his heart added. Even if it was cute, it was still a living being and deserved to be treated with respect. Abe sat on his bed and heaved a heavy high, rolling the damp shirt between his tired, aching fingers. A faint smile brushed against his lips.

Easy, it certainly would not be to raise something so mildly tempered... but... maybe... A knocking at the door brought him out of his reverie and he squirmed back into his shirt and strode across the room to open it.

"Hello–"

"Do not ever speak to this darling creature in that manner again."

Abe was surprised to note that it was his mother being so firm with him and not his grandmother. The normally kind lines of her face were hardened and she pressed Poliwag into his arms before setting her lips, the one's Abe had inherited from her, into an impossibly thin line.

"I will not allow..." Emotion made her voice thick and husky to the point were she had a hard time getting her words out. "Abe..." She had been crying, he could tell, and each tear he saw rise to the surface before being pushed back down put yet another brick in his stomach. He knew what was coming next and his head dropped in shame. She was going to tell him not to be like his father. To treat others with respect and kindness and to always be gentle with the hearts of others... That had to be it because when she spoke of his dad was the only time she ever became this emotionally out of sorts.

"Mom..."

"No, Abe. Let me finish." Theresa drew on all of her strength and sighed again. "You... you are a very special boy and maybe I've been to easy on you... but... Oh, Abe. I just don't want you to be like him. Ever. Please..."

"Mom..." Abe sniffed back his own tears and let her arms envelop him and Poliwag. She was only trying to do what was best for him and he was behaving like a spoiled brat. Over what? The fact that he'd been given an opportunity, but not the one he wanted? It made him feel dirty just thinking about it.

"Now... wash up for dinner." She smiled weakly, wiping away the moisture at the corner of his eyes, before moving back into the kitchen.

Abe walked back over to his bed and fell back on it, Poliwag hopping out of his arms and rolling alongside him.

"I guess life isn't so easy, is it, Poliwag?"

'Poooli.'

Abe smiled. "Thought not."


	3. Chapter 3

So! Guys and gals. This is Chapter 3. Thank you so much for the reviews and support. Those of you that did review. ) I 3 you all lots. By the by, looking for a Beta Reader so if you're interested, let me know. Also, I have given consideration to a traveling companion for Abe. Still doing a bit of tweaking with writing style and trying to see where the story wants to go before I make anything definite. SO. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and that'll answer some of the questions I've got going on in my head.

Battles. Yes. Those are coming. Just not yet. But within the next chapter or so, there will be a battle. I'm not so good with the combat, as some of you may know, but I will do my best to make it as enjoyable as possible. As well as a bit different than the usual: "Character shouts. Pokémon Moves. Other character shouts. Other Pokemon moves." I'm trying to flesh out actual characters, including the Pokémon, so my battles will probably have heavy emotional components from the view points of the Pokemon as well as the trainers. I get kind of into minds as I write, which I'm sure you're starting to see, so things could get to be a bit . . . more mental and less physical.

But that's later. Enjoy the chapter. It's a bit longer than the other two. I was surprised.

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon. Mild language. -coughs-**

* * *

Abe had never noticed how unsteady his kitchen table was until now. There he sat at the dilapidated old thing, peeling potatoes in order to make him a better human being or so his mother told him. Just how was he supposed to become a better person when the scope his focus was simply how the playful wobble he'd always been able to ignore was now, suddenly, a menace to his concentration, he didn't quite know. His mind was not off pondering the ramifications of his sometimes selfish behavior, but instead trying desperately to find a way to avoid slicing his thumb off while trying to peel potatoes at the table. Quite the task it was considering how violently the table swayed and danced when he set his elbows on it leverage and the creaking! That annoying, nerve-splitting creaking that filled the air each time the table made a move set Abe's teeth on edge and diminished his dwindling patience (which, unlike the pile of potatoes, was rapidly running out). Forget becoming a better person, Abe just wanted this job done with so that he could escape from the suffocating humidity of the kitchen find some place with cool, fresh air. Thinking about it only annoyed him more so he gruffly dedicated himself to the task at hand.

Clumsily, he ran the knife over the coarse skins of the potatoes, liberating the white flesh beneath to the sticky air of the kitchen. There was a tin basin sitting beside his chair filled with lumpy brown potatoes and water. The water, his mom had said, was to make the skins easier to remove, but Abe found the soggy mess to be revolting to the touch and not quite so pretty to look at either. The knife bit into the skin of the potato and he circled it around, pulling it away from the potato in a wet, soppy spiral that drooped and bounced with each twist of the knife. Around and around, he pulled the shining metal blade, holding the bottom of the spud with the tips of his fingers, squeezing it tight and holding it steady; his tongue was pressed between his lips and his eyes held level so that he could inspect his work. This was not his first time peeling a potato, oh no, but it was the first time he'd done without a suitable brace for his elbows and since he could no longer trust the table to support him, he had to do it aloft. Which meant near the face and twice the danger. He'd always been clumsy and had lamented at his general lack of coordination, but this was the first time it actually promised to draw blood! One slip of the knife and off went his nose! Or a thumb. Or finger. Or hand.

A whole host of ghastly images played before his mind's eye, each more gruesome and disconcerting than the last, and Abe calmly set the knife and potato he was peeling aside so that he could take a deep and hopefully steadying breath. The back of the chair squeaked when he pressed into it and sprawled his legs out beneath the shaky table. This time, the sharp sound didn't make him wince, but it did manage to draw a small groan from his chest. It was a rumble of a sound, a tight, clenching vibration that spoke of his mounting frustration. This had become his life for the past three days. Up at dawn so that he could get worked over by some menial, degrading chore, and for what? Poliwag; he wanted to spit derisively, but managed to hold it in. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder to see if he was alone and when he didn't see the shadows of his mother and grandmother being thrown against the back porch from the garden, he sighed in relief and rose out of his chair. On the table, he left the knife, a half-peeled potato, and a white bowl filled with twenty or so white, lumpy potatoes. Each one boasted several spots where the skin had been too insistent to be peeled away, and more than likely, he'd have to scrape them off later, but for now, he was taking a break.

The kitchen was as small as ever and bore his presence with an uneasy sense of being overfilled. How they ever ate in the small, cramped room without feeling the effects of such suffocating closeness, he didn't know, in truth, he didn't care. He was in that kind of mood. One where he didn't care. Just didn't. Anger and frustration did that to a boy and when he could feel the heat of summer in his blood, urging him to go dance under the tall pines and soak up the cool shadows of the woods, there was little inside that he could find a scrap of a care for. He felt like a prisoner in the room and not even the big window (which hadn't been open) or the amount of light pouring in and illuminating the white porcelain of the sink could make up for it. Abe's dusty hands slid against the white with a stuttering squeak of a sound, his eyes staring into the white oblivion in the sink for a moment before raising to intently watch his reflection in the metal tap. The heat inside today was oppressive and hung inside of the tiny space like a thick, wool blanket. Why he had opted to do the potatoes inside was a mystery to him now, but a tingling in the back of his mind told him that he hadn't wanted to be reminded of what it was he was missing out on. Doing it on the back porch would have left him with an amazing view of the yard beyond and the tall trees that he wasn't' currently relaxing beneath.

Exactly like the ones he could see beyond the window pane. The most beautiful things in the world, Abe had found, lay beyond window panes. Forever and always out of your grasp, your touch. They eluded your fingertips and kissed your touch with teasing kisses that were fleeting, transient imitations of what you truly desired. How sharp his eyes became as they stared out at things he could not enjoy because of something stupid he'd done. He could make out the luscious greenery of the needles that sprung from the pines and the waxy glare cast off by the oak leaves. Though the window was closed, his nose picked up the scent of the forest; it was the scent of moist, dark soil and the flowers that bloomed among all of the trees. The scent of sap dripping from the trees and wetting the tongues of the Ursaring and Ledbya. He brought his hand up and stared at it. Nothing was out of place. Five fingers, covered in dust and grit from the potatoes. But his mind implanted a rich, brown honey upon them. Made them feel sticky from tree sap and just like that, he was gone. In his mind. Down to the forest to play among the trees.

His daydream, however, was interrupted by the banging of the front door and Abe turned and made his way back over to the table with the bad leg and the horrible singing voice; damned creaking. Theresa entered the room just as he was seating himself and smiled. Poliwag was no longer in her arms as Abe had seen it earlier that morning, but hid behind her legs. She just stood there with her arms folded lightly over her chest, peering down at her son with a bright grin. Wordlessly, she approached the table and tilted her head over the bowl as Abe worked in silent anger, after shooting Poliwag a dark glare, with jerking, furious motions. The potato he'd taken so much care with before received no such blessing now and was soon ripped apart by the knife, cleaved by Abe's foul mood, and Theresa noticed. Quickly. She placed an understanding hand on his shoulder, stilling his motions. She could feel the anger in him, but she did not withdraw. The tension running through his shoulder jolted into her body and drew a pang of sorrow from deep within. Soon, she placed her other hand upon his other shoulder and dropped a soft kiss atop his head.

"That's plenty, sweetie. Why don't you take Poliwag outside and play while I start dinner?"

Abe's jaw had gotten tighter and he had no intention of going anywhere with Poliwag unless it involved trading it in for something a little less troublesome. He almost said so too, but after glancing up at his mother's worried face, he decided not to and simply shrugged her hands off, rising as he did so. There was no point in hanging around in the kitchen when he didn't really want to, even if it meant that Poliwag would be following him around. But pretending to get along with it... maybe it would get his mom off of his back a little bit. Besides, Poliwag couldn't get him in trouble if he kept an eye on it. He gave Poliwag another hard-edged stare before motioning with his head toward the backdoor. Theresa moved aside to let the precious little thing waddle after her Abe and she took the white bowl in both hands and moved toward the sink. The backdoor banged closed and she watched them through the window. Abe's steps were broad, fast-paced, leaving little Poliwag to struggle to keep up. Her heart went out to the poor creature; she knew how it felt to chase after someone who didn't want you, but you depended on just the same. Learning to care for Poliwag would be good for Abe. And with that thought, she turned on the tap and let it run over the potatoes, washing away the remnants of dirt that Abe's hands had left behind, all the while knowing that some things weren't so easily washed away.

--

"... Cut it out!" Abe stood there with his feet firmly planted on the ground, his hands balled into fists and pushed up on to his hips, and his face pulled into a tight frown. Poliwag had followed him all the way down to the stream. While he had expected to be followed a little of the way, he hadn't expected Poliwag to actually follow him the entire way here! This was his place. A place he hadn't shared with anyone was now being invaded by the biggest regret of his life. The water slipped past at quiet, even pace, a stark contrast to the fidgety twitching taking place in the corner of Abe's mouth. The moment he'd realized that Poliwag was in his special place, he'd taken in several gulps of air in hopes of keeping his temper, but they'd failed miserably and he'd attempted to be nice, which hadn't gone so well either. Now, he was just barely holding on to the residual traces of control he had in hopes of not punting the blue little pest into the water and letting the current carry it away.

Poliwag's body gave a shudder and it shrank away from Abe, bumping into some of the shrubs that lined the stream's banks. They were standing beneath some of the tallest and oldest trees in the forest and the shadows played against the light, casting smatterings of shade and wrinkled light all around. Abe's body was covered in rippling light from the water while his legs were thrown into shadow, Poliwag was swaddled in bits and pieces of light and shade, but none of it could protect it from Abe's eyes that were piercing and flashing angrily. Mild understanding could be seen in its young face, but confused hurt dominated Poliwag's body language. Fear gripped tightly at its insides and its body again shuddered against the bristly greenery. Abe's foot advanced forward and his mouth worked furiously, trying to form the words that would be the most cutting and would be understood the best. There was this overwhelming urge to hurt Poliwag for intruding in his heart, but when he went to deliver the stinging diatribe, he was interrupted.

"Whoa there, buddy." The voice was brusque and came from somewhere behind Poliwag. Abe's eyes narrowed as he watched a boy with dark, curly hair emerge from the underbrush as if he'd been a part of it all along. He seemed to just appear from it, his body slipping easily and fluidly into existence next to Poliwag, seemingly in its defense. He was tall, taller than Abe anyway, and looked stronger too. There was a robust fullness to his chest, arms, and legs and a tan that Abe would never be able to gain, not that he wanted one. "That's no way to talk to your Pokémon." It was the voice of a rustic and came weighted with a warning in its undertones. Abe didn't think it wise to cross the guy, but his annoyance and frustration had been building and it was not about to let him back down that easily.

"Don't tell me how to take care of imy/I Pokémon," Abe ground out, making another move to snatch Poliwag up, but the boy with the broad shoulders and stone gray eyes moved to intercept and stood there with his arms folded over his chest. There was a condescending look on his face; Abe knew it well, he used it often enough. He knew then and there that this boy was not someone he would -ever- like.

"If that's your idea of taking care of a Pokémon, I'd hate to see what you call neglect!" His voice rose and lost the false friendliness it had been filled with earlier, Abe retreated a step. This boy's body language was relaxed, almost casual, and Abe felt intimidated, tense. Was he really that tense? Hadn't noticed. A scowl curved the delicate lines of Abe's face and pushed his chest out, arms shooting initiatively into his pockets.

"What do you know?" Abe muttered and kicked a loose stone to the side, eyes cast off to the side as if the twigs and pine straw were more interesting than they really were.

"That this poor little thing is scared to death." As if to illustrate his point, the guy stooped down and ran a reassuring hand down Poliwag's quivering body. Abe pinned it with a look that said: traitor. Evil things came to mind. All of which involved some kind of torture of the annoying brat of a Pokémon that he was being forced to have at his side. "Hey, my eyes are over here." The warning was back and the guy's face grew stern. His eyes were frighteningly lighter than the rest of him and they drew Abe's attention immediately. They were swirling, wispy clouds. Thunderclouds. That's what they reminded Abe of and he couldn't help but to drop his glare. "Better." The boy sneered, Abe snorted again.

"That Poliwag is mine."

"And you treated it like shit; so what?"

Abe didn't respond, instead biting his tongue and trying to think of something to say. He felt embarrassed, not because of what he'd done or said to make Poliwag afraid, but that he was being given a hard time by a complete and total stranger. Besides, what did this guy care, it wasn't like Poliwag's welfare was his concern! The words sprung to Abe's tongue, but not quickly enough as the stranger held up his hand and waved away Abe's feeble attempts at a comeback.

"Don't bother." Turning to Poliwag, he gave it another gentle pat and stood, giving Abe a disgusted look. "You've got a lot of growing up to do. But," he held up one finger and shoved it into Abe's chest, "that's no reason to take it out on Poliwag." Each word was punctuated with a sharp jab of the finger and before Abe could respond, he was pushed back over into the stream with an unceremonious plunk. With a look of superiority and supreme agitation etched on to his handsome features, he folded his arms across his chest and stared down at Abe. "Name's Dominic, asshole. Remember it." Crouching, he leaned into Abe's face and with a glinting anger in his eyes, he spoke again, "Because I'll be back if I ever see you doing that again, capiche?" A few light taps against his cheeks left Abe's face flushed with humiliation, but Dominic didn't seem to mind as he strolled casually away after petting Poliwag again.

Barely-restrained anger and pure hate lined his voice when Abe finally climbed out of the stream and grasped Poliwag between his hands, squeezing enough to let it know that he was in charge, "You are going to pay for this." And with that, he let Poliwag drop to the ground, pulled out a pokeball, and harshly ordered it to return. Only then did he take inventory of the damage that had been done. His shorts were sopping wet and his backside was covered in mud and grime. Yep. No doubt about it, he'd have to change. With another grunt of anger, he forced himself toward home, feet collecting dust as he went, thankful he'd chosen to wear sandals instead of socks and shoes.

--

Abe found the kitchen remarkably cooler after a shower. He'd donned a pair of plain, worn jeans and a simple white t-shirt, thin cotton and ideal for this weather. His bare feet caused the creaking, old floor boards to moan in muffled protest, but familiarity bred deafness in Abe's ears. He slipped into his chair and waited for his mom to set down his plate. He took the free moment to glance around the table. Four tables, four glasses... four? He blinked in confusion, wondering if they were having company and why his mom hadn't mentioned it. When she turned around to set the mashed potatoes on the table, he nodded toward the extra place setting. "Is grandma having a guest?" He hoped so. His grandmother dragged home the most interesting people. Like the one time, she'd brought home the man who did puppet shows in all of the villages for the children and he'd let Abe set up and help him with a show the next day. Grinning, he watched as his mom chuckled and nodded.

Well, tonight promised to be interesting, didn't it? The front door swung open and granny shouted that she'd arrived. Slow, clunking steps drew nearer to the kitchen and Abe rose out of his chair to properly greet their guest.

"Really, ma'am, I can't thank you enough for letting me stay."

Abe recognized the voice before he recognized the face. A frown hit him before he even had a chance to lower his hand as Dominic stepped into the kitchen with his grandma.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Abe asked as an awkward hush fell upon the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Wooo. Long chapter ahead. I think I've hit a bit of a stride with my writing that I hope sticks. Not a lot going on in this chapter on the surface level, but there are a lot of undercurrents driving it. BRIEF BRIEF battle scene below. More of an experiment than anything else. Expect better in later chapters.

**Lyokoluva** – Fwee. Happy to help. I really love that story of yours. One of my favorites. At the moment, it is the only one on my favorite list. Haha. /fishslapped.

**Ace** – I know you wanted a battle and the one I included is CRAP. LOOK AWAY. LOOK AWAY. Yeah. But they'll get better so please don't stop reading. As for how he hates Poliwag. -coughs- Well, that's kind of addressed in here, but in a roundabout/subtle sort of way. It'll be one of the reoccuring themes so I'm sure it'll make itself clear in good time. As for traveling peoples. Well, we'll just have to see won't we? D

Everyone else, thank you for the reviews! OC ideas welcome. And not just trainers. I tend to make them up as I need them so to have a few in reserves would be nice. So. Just toss me a couple of ideas and we'll make magic happen. I heart you guys. Lots.

I also want to know what you guys think about the interaction between Abe and Dominic. WOOT. Let me knowz.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokemon. Like. At all.

* * *

The solitary clack and clatter of a frenzied heart beating against flimsy ribs were all that Abe could hear. The kitchen, infuriatingly familiar to a point where it could no longer hold his attention, became but a blur that surrounded him and even the uncomfortable wooden chairs he'd been so obsessed with earlier were nothing but the slightest twittering things on the edge of his consciousness. His focus was laser-like, pinpoint, and deadly, placed solely on the face of the arrogant bastard who sat across the creaking old table from him. His mother had placed the boy right in the line of fire, but Abe wasn't complaining; it gave him the perfect excuse to glare at him throughout dinner without drawing too much attention from his mom and grandma. If they'd seen the paint-peeling, scathing look he was currently giving Dominic, they would have scolded him severely and sent him off to bed and he'd be humiliated in front of the obnoxious stranger twice in the same day. No, he was fine with the seating arrangements as they were. From where he sat, he had the perfect vantage point to let his eyes stalk and chase all the lines of Dominic's sun-darkened skin, to embed hateful glares of cold, emotional dark blue in each crevice that he found. His grandmother sat to his right and his mother to the left, making polite chatter with Dominic.

Dominic.

Abe resisted the urge to sneer by simply inclining his head forward and picking at the potatoes that had been stacked on to his plate. In his mind, he could hear the faint voices of memory replaying the introductions; they were speaking so softly that he strained and strained, trying to catch the thin wisps with his mind and hold on to them, imprint them. The volume increased with his concentration as he grew further away, at least mentally and emotionally, from the group formed at the table, touching upon his thoughts on what had happened earlier. Dominic walking in with his grandma had been a shock to be sure, but had his mom understood that? No, she hadn't, but she had hit him on the back of the head with so much force that the room had echoed for all of five seconds from the blow. Like some stray, his grandma had brought the boy home with her for dinner and a nice place to sleep because he was 'new to town and didn't know anyone.' He'd snorted then, Abe had, and gotten a dark, dirty look from his mom for it. He had no idea how his grandma had even come into contact with Dominic, but what he did know was that his grandma would flay the skin off his butt if he made another outwardly rude gesture toward their guest.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and stood to attention and Abe raised his eyes from the plate, peering through the haze of his recollection at Dominic with a look that, for the first time that night, was not thinly masked hatred or annoyance. Curiosity bubbled up in the back of his throat and he was pressed, from within, to ask questions. He resisted, however, afraid that Dominic might turn out to be remotely interesting and ruin his plans of brooding for the rest of the evening. Abe strained his mind, trying to think of a reason as to why Dominic was staring back at him, but instead he remembered the time he'd spent in the stream because of the young man he was currently locking eyes. Hate mixed with the clear, azure purity of his gaze like mud slowly filling up the stream he'd been pushed into. He let the cold waters of memory chill his stare and combat the stormy, amused flecks of grey and light blue that gave Dominic's eyes their usual color.

Bastard. He was grinning. Abe's teeth slid together, grating and tight, as his jaw tightened. He'd been caught by the enemy and now he was on the defensive, as if he'd been anything but for the past two hours. The moment Dominic had set foot in the room, he knew that this night would not go well and it hadn't disappointed his grim expectations yet. What did disappoint him was that Dominic was actually a lively and warm presence. He was not at all the overbearing jerk that had pushed Abe into the river and it threw the blond boy for a loop, made him question his own perception of the events that had transpired. The wounds to his ego were fresh, too fresh to let him forget with perfect clarity just what it was that had happened and so he quickly threw off the doubts; Dominic was just an actor. A false friend, trying to be nice so they wouldn't throw him out into the night for the Ursaring to eat up.

Mirth twinkling in his eyes, Dominic set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. Abe watched, riveted by every motion and tic the dark-haired boy made, as Dominic patted his belly and groaned in surrender. Apparently, his mother had offered the freeloader thirds while Abe had been distracted by just how large his hands looked.

"No, ma'am. I couldn't eat another crumb!" Abe winced as if struck when he heard Dominic's laughter, feeling a writhing, sinister dislike in the bottom of his own belly. There was plenty of room there for ill feelings since he hadn't eaten much during dinner, instead preferring to stare Dominic into a coma. Hadn't worked, but there was always hope. Dominic turned his electric smile on to Abe's grandma and Abe clamped his teeth together harder, the urge to snap growing more and more powerful. "You ladies sure can cook!" Another healthy dose of laughter further frayed Abe's nerves. He'd had to sit through the charming dialogue and banter for two solid hours, had to listen to Dominic share witticisms and swap stories for the better part of the evening and he wanted nothing more than to go to his room and sleep. It was almost physically exhausting, holding in so much resentment and dislike, and his head pulsed and throbbed with each thought that passed through his mind.

Slowly, Dominic's eyes found Abe's once more; they were still grey, and smiling. The eyes of a kind soul. Eyes that could heal a wounded heart. Eyes that had within them all the answers to any question Abe could ever hope to ask. In the smokey depths of Dominic's eyes, Abe found himself hopelessly outclassed and outdone in every area. Inferiority. Was he really back to that? Like wind-chimes tinkling in the slightest breeze, the voices of his childhood came back to him under the pressing lightness of Dominic's eyes, singing in lilting voices all of his faults and humming insults against the roof of mouths that were so adept at stinging his almost nonexistent pride. It hadn't been easy growing up heavier than all the other children or more sensitive and they'd raked him over the coals on more than one occassion, making him feel smaller and smaller with each passing day, as if he would suddenly vanish if they willed him to. It was not a pleasant feeling, that of being insignificant and watching his mother and grandmother carry on with Dominic, he was painfully and somewhat harshly reminded of it. Dominic's eyes screamed it to him; Abe felt sick.

"Sweetie..." It was his mother's voice now. Soft. Caring. Filled with concern. Abe titled his head up and smiled at her as best he could, a weak attempt but it would have to do for now. She didn't seem convinced but patted his hand tenderly before returning to Dominic. "So, you're from Johto?"

Dominic seemed somewhat hesitant, but it evaporated almost as quickly as it had appeared when he shifted his eyes almost nonchalantly from Abe to Theresa. "Yes, ma'am!" Abe smirked, at last feeling somewhat normal, at the way Dominic's eyes childishly lit up at the mention of his home. "A little bit outside of Olivine City." His grin was crooked and dark, thick curls bounced about his forehead which was brown, like fresh-baked bread. Surprisingly, his teeth were just a bit off-white, not sparkling and perfect as he'd expected. There were faint lines around his lips and eyes, smile-lines, and Abe counted each one of them as if he had nothing better to do, happy to find some flaw that he could hold on to and use like a weapon the next time Dominic threatened his ego. The voice was joyful and filled with vitality, strong. IT suited the body that housed a spirit waiting just below the surface to explode out and see the world. Abe curled his toes beneath the table to stave off another shiver.

Thankfully, his mother brought him out of the staring match he was having with the freckles at the base of Dominic's throat by speaking again, "Olivine... Olivine... Oh! The one with the beautiful lighthouses!"

Dominic smiled again and Abe died a little bit on the inside, finding it all to be a bit much. "Yes'm. We're right there on the sea. It's beautiful." Without meaning to, Abe inhaled deeply and took in the salty aroma of the sea from Dominic. He blinked when he found it to be fresh, pleasing, nice. Something about Dominic that was nice. He scowled. There was nothing nice about Dominic. He was a lying predator. Who pushed people into streams.

"Aberley." His name being growled out always made him tense and he flinched, gingerly turning to his grandmother. Her hands were folded in front of her lips and her keen, discerning eyes were at the moment cutting him right down to the soul. He could feel her tunneling inside, digging around, probing and gulped forcibly before sinking lower into his chair which, naturally, caused it to creak and wobble. That's all it usually took, her calling his name. Once she did that, he was as good as tamed and his mood became less menacing, more sulking. Still, he wanted to bite Dominic's head off, but he managed to look a lot less threatening.

"Aberely?" Dominic smiled incredulously.

"As if Dominic is any better!" Sharp and acerbic, his words lashed out of his throat before he could stop them.

"Abe!" Theresa gave her son and was about to go on when Dominic simply raised a hand and smiled, obviously unbothered, at Abe.

"Nah. It's fine. I'm sure he's just having a bad day is all." Though his smile remained in tact, Abe saw Dominic's eyes smirk and he wanted to reach out and plunk them from the boy's head. Bastard. What gave him the right?

"Just the same..." His mother gave him another long, disapproving, tight-lipped glance before returning to the thread of conversation she was having with Dominic about lighthouses and the sea. Abe just sat there and sulked under the watchful eye of his grandmother. Eventually, her old, wrinkled hand pressed atop his and flattened it against the tabletop. A tiny smile cracked his lips and he felt the weight of the evening lessen a bit.

"No, ma'am," Dominic shook his head sadly when Theresa asked him if he was here partaking in the Sinnoh League challenge. "I'm headin' out to Pastoria. I've got an uncle there who left me some land... he died recently." Abe's ears pricked up at the mention of gyms and Pokémon battles. His gaze swept over Dominic, doubting that the guy could raise himself let alone a Pokémon , and immediately dismissed him as nothing but a wanderer. "See... I tried the gym thing a while back. Even got Top Thirty at the Silver Conference and Top Fifty in the Hoenn League, but I realized I enjoyed the traveling a lot more than the battling." Dominic's eyes grew wistful, as if he were no longer among them. Abe knew that look well and stared intently into the boy's face, for the first time realizing how close in age they were.

At nineteen, Dominic had done things that he had only dreamed about. Things that Abe had wanted to do since he'd entered the Pokemon Academy all those years ago. Things that... Envy burned red-hot in the back of his throat and he abruptly turned to stare out into the night through the kitchen window, jarred by Dominic's admissions. Why did he get to travel the world? Why? But his jealousy didn't prevent him from listening when Dominic began to speak again.

"So, you see, since I'd never been to Sinnoh, I decided I would get off the ship here and make my way over to Pastoria on foot. Really see the country."

Theresa smiled kindly and nodded while Abe's grandma grew pensive suddenly. She withdrew her hand from Abe's and set to chewing on her thumb. Dominic cleared his throat and laughed nervously, tan skin suddenly growing red with embarrassment. Good, Abe thought, he now knew what it felt like to have other shoot down your dreams, to call them stupid with their eyes.

"That's beautiful, Dominic. Really beautiful. I wish you luck on your travels." Rising slowly from her seat, Theresa bent down to drop a small kiss on Dominic's cheek as she began rounding up all of the plates. Abe blinked several times as if trying to clear his head after a startling blow and found himself failing miserably to grasp just what had happened. Another frown darkened his face as he jerked back in the table, and kissed mother and grandmother good night before exiting the room. Dominic simply sat staring sheepishly out of the kitchen window, the very one Abe's eyes had touched, wondering why the boy hadn't ratted him out.

--

Light fell in familiar waves across the grass. At least that hadn't changed; the light would never betray him. Unlike his treasonous mother and grandmother, Abe thought with a small smirk, glancing toward the door that lead into the kitchen. The air was for once bereft of the thick humidity that the early evenings oftentimes had and threatened to actually give rise to chill bumps along the exposed skin of his arms. He was thankful for the cool air. Thankful that he didn't have yet another unpleasant thing to deal with tonight because he really did not think that he could take anything else. Already, his head was hissing at him for enduring that mess of a dinner and kicking the inside of his skull for his stupidity. And it didn't have to be this way, did it? The answer glared at him from the pitch black night his closed eyes had doomed him to experiencing; no. He could have told him mom and grandma that Dominic had pushed him into the stream and could have gotten him thrown out. Going through dinner, miserable and unhappy, had been his own doing and he had only himself to thank for the migraine he was currently suffering through.

Leaning back into the steps caused the wood to rub coarsely against his back through the thin white t-shirt he wore, but he ignored it and stared contemplatively upward, as if some answer would descend from the moon as to why he hadn't ceased his opportunity and ruined Dominic's image in the eyes of his mom and grandma. Chance after chance had presented itself and at first, when the sting of his mom's slap still bit and nipped at the back of his head, he had savored watching Dominic squirm beneath his gaze. But as dinner had gone on, he'd lost his nerve, lost his edge and Dominic, sensing it, had taking control of the little game they were playing. Besides, if he told on Dominic, then Dominic would have been forced to give his side of the story and the last thing he needed was more trouble because of Poliwag. When it all boiled down, Abe knew that he'd never really had any power in the situation. His family would have been far more inclined to take Dominic's side since they'd seen for themselves just how badly he got along with Poliwag.

Yet another horrendous situation in his life thanks to the damp little thing. Helpless, damp little thing that depended on him for food, shelter, and protection. As much as he sighed and huffed about it, there was no getting around the fact that he craved the dependence Poliwag had for him or the fear he could see there in its eyes each time he did something that made it clear just how close it was to being abandoned. He chuckled when he thought back to how afraid Poliwag had been by the stream, how huge its eyes had grown when he'd taken but a single step forward. A surge of powerful pride eddied his mood upward and he let go of the heavy, leaden bricks of his dour mind set with a light, pleased sigh. Poliwag was his, all right. Whenever he needed a good laugh, he'd just shake it up a bit and watch its reaction. That's all the little squirt was good for; laughter. Cute didn't win battles. Cute didn't make you strong. Being cute was a waste of time, energy, and life in general. Abe had no desire to be linked with the cute, helpless thing. He'd already played that role in life and had taken from it only bitterness and hurt. Being cute was too painful.

The protesting floor boards of the back porch brought his attention around from its stroll down memory lane, but he kept his eyes focused on the woods. The overbearing smell of the ocean assaulted his nose and Abe pressed back a gulp of air, shouting at his body to remain still while every never fiber in his body burned to turn around and glower at the boy who now stood, staring down at him. Abe was not foolish enough to do that though, not by a long shot, because he knew his grandma was also there, standing just behind Dominic. He heard them whispering together, obviously continuing whatever conversation they'd started when he had left about a half hour ago, and he tried to focus more on the songs of the Kricketot and Kricketot than their voices behind him. But the harsh, grating gasps of air that escaped their lips scraped a discordant symphony across his patience and created a penetrating cacophony that filled every inch of his attention. It felt as though someone were dragging a whole host of sharp objects across a blackboard, listening to their whispering, and it became almost unbearable when he felt the warmth of their eyes on the back of his head.

He increased the tension behind his eyes, trying desperately to let it be known that he was ignoring them, but he should not have even bothered because soon his grandma withdrew from the porch and Dominic hopped down the steps and turned to face him, grinning. Bathed in the moonlight, his off-white teeth did seem to sparkle and his hair seemed almost purple, it was so dark. His eyes gave a strange glow that Abe noted with as little attentitiveness as possible, and his arms were bleached bone white in the ivory cascades of light. A plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up the elbows covered his torso and a simple pair of dark jeans hid his legs from view, but did nothing to hide their firm musculature. Abe noted that Dominic was just as uproariously fit and in-shape as he remembered from the stream with a mild twinge of annoyance and cleared his throat.

"What do you want?"

Dominic's smile deepened as he clasped his hands together, rubbing them in an almost maniacle fashion. Abe thought he looked crazy, but became fascinated with how the wind toyed at the red and white checkered shirt just at his neck where the buttons were undone, revealing a thatch of skin to the world. Abe almost regretted the question when Dominic didn't respond with words, only with a deepening of that frightfully large and bright smile. It wasn't the first time his grandma had taken in a deranged person and with the silence between them growing tighter, Abe was starting to think that she'd done it yet again. Dominic was obviously out of his mind.

"Battle me."

Definitely out of his mind. Abe narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together in a thin crease. Of all the things he had been expecting, a battle proposition was the least of them. What kind of person randomly requested that? A glimmer of something more danced behind those wispy grey tendrils in Dominic's eyes and Abe's frown grew more intense. He smelled a setup. Just what had this jerk and his grandma been discussing anyway?

"What were you and grandma talking about?" Obviously not the answer Dominic had been expecting, he frowned and then shrugged. "Answer the question." Abe's voice was calm, but his heart hammered noisily in his ears. He knew very well that if Dominic didn't want to answer the question, he wouldn't, and there was very little Abe could do to make him. In that moment, Abe realized just how helpless he was and what made the wound sting more was that this was his home, his home! Idily, he began twisting at a frayed thread along the length of his shirt, body language languid and composed. He saw Dominic swallow, followed the tensing of the muscles from his lips to his neck and then down. A slow crawl of his eyes over tan skin. Effortless gliding.

"I'll tell you if you can beat me." Dominic's smile resumed its reign over his feature, brightening them up considerably and making Abe's stomach constrict tightly. There was no way that he could win. Not when the only Pokemon he had was Poliwag. Tilting his chin up, he cast a condescending eye over the four Pokeballs that lined Dominic's belt.

"Why should I?" A legitimate question as well as a stalling tactic. They both already knew how this would end, but they had to do the appropriate dancing before an end could be reached. "You have more experience."

Dominic snorted and motioned toward a path of open grass beyond the garden. "Come on."

Wordlessly, Abe complied, rising slowly and reluctantly from porch steps, trying desperately to quell the excitement he felt lining his stomach. Deep down, he was excited. His first Pokemon battle. But amid all that excitement, he felt nervous, uncomfortable, and like he was about to vomit again. He dreaded battling Dominic. More than he'd dreaded anything else in his life. There was something about walking head-on into failure that made his stomach upset. Still. It was sort of liberating to face a known, decided fate head-on. He didn't have to worry about fear or uncertainty because he knew what would happen, quite well, actually.

When they stopped moving and stared each other down, with nothing but ten feet of grass between them, Abe felt his heart flutter helplessly in his chest. Poliwag's Pokeball felt like a knot in his pocket. It felt hot and heavy in his pocket, as if he'd just stuck a very large rock there after leaving it to bake in the sun all day. Acutely aware of everything happening around him, he shakily pulled it out and tossed it into the air. "Poliwag," he said calmly and without emotion though his eyes betrayed the unsteadiness he felt. He narrowed his eyes at the sudden burst of light and wince when it shimmied on down to the ground, wobbling and shifting until Poliwag stood there gazing up at him. He could smell the fear on it, but decided not to comment as he instead took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the creature, scanning it so he'd at least have some idea of what its stats were.

What he saw made him purse his lips and scowl slightly. It would have to do, obviously, but he wasn't pleased. Dominic, as if it sensing it, gave him a sharp look that told him everything he needed to know about what would happen if he mistreated Poliwag before tossing a ball up himself. "Kricketot." And soon, facing Poliwag, there was a crimson-shelled creature with two black antennae that it clinked together noisily. Abe was familiar with them and tightened his frown into a grimace. When had Dominic captured one of those? They were native to Sinnoh, but according to Dominic's story, he'd only arrived two days ago. Did he always move that quickly? Dominic, noticing his gaze, smiled and folded his arms across his chest. "So, let's get this show on the road. Kricketot. Bide."

Bide? Bide? Bide? Abe clenched his jaw and let it jut out, anger sparking in his eyes. Was this some kind of joke? A sad attempt at humor? He did not appreciate being toyed with and even if Polwag had abysmal battle potential didn't mean that Dominic had the right to go around making fun of them this way. "Poliwag, use Bubble." Abe ground out the order through gritted teeth and Poliwag, squeaking at first in fear turned to face the hunkered down Bug Pokemon.

At first, Abe wondered if it had even heard him, but he soon saw that Poliwag just took longer than most Pokemon to respond to a command. Pathetic. With its lips formed into a loose ring, Poliwag exhaled several pale blue bubbles into the cool night air. They wafted on a stray breeze and swept immediately toward Kricketot, whose body shook under the strain of fending off the oncoming bubbles. They were delicate at first, merely hovering about before popping out of existence, but as Poliwag continued to exhale, its grasp on the attacks grew more sure and the bubbles grew thicker, and heavier. Within seconds, it had filled the clearing with glittering bubbles that absorbed the moonlight and sent it dancing through, scattering the white shafts of light into sparkling rainbows that stretched across the grass. And as beautiful as the attack was, it was forceful as it slammed into Kricketot. The initial tentativeness of it was gone and its place were dazzling pops that left stinging bruises along Kriktetot's shell.

Pain threaded its fingers through the tiny Pokemon's body, but Dominic did not panic. "Breathe, Kricketot. Just like we practiced. Focus on your breathing." Abe stared at Dominic through the bubbles Poliwag just kept letting out in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? A sneer curled into Abe's lips. And he had tried to tell Abe how to raise Pokemon? He was letting his Pokemon get injured!

"You can wipe that smirk off your face," Dominic said with a chuckle as he raised his brows. "Because it's show time."

As if someone had thrown a switch to change the way the world worked, Kricketot gave its antennae a final, loud clink and channeled a glowing red energy within them. It pulsed angry and bright in the night, and before Abe could call off the bubble attack, Kricketot gave a shout and sent a resounding wave of crackling red energy through the clearing, repelling the bubbles and pushing Poliwag up and backward into the air, slamming into Abe's stomach and sending him crumpling to the ground. A rain of crimson and blue energies fell to the grass, covering Abe and Poliwag in shimmering droplets and he groaned, glaring up at Dominic. Several things sprung to mind, all of which he wanted to say, but he said none of them. Instead he stood up slowly, still trying to catch his breath, and pulled Poliwag back into its ball.

"You're a bastard. I just want you to know that."

"Come with me to Pastoria."

Abe stared. For a long time, he didn't say anything. He suddenly knew exactly what his grandmother had been whispering to Dominic about during dinner, and it hurt to think about. His heart throbbed as a painful reminder that he'd just been betrayed and gave Dominic a glacial once-over. "Not a chance in hell, I don't even know you."

"Your choice. I was just asking because your grandma told me to." Dominic shrugged as if it didn't really matter to him at all. Abe knew it didn't. "If you change your mind; I leave tomorrow morning."

Abe raised his chin yet again. "I won't, don't worry."

Dominic gave him a searching look. The kind that made Abe feel like his privacy was being invaded and made his skin crawl at its intimacy. He ignored the churning in his stomach.

"Suit yourself."

"Why'd you ask to battle me?" The defeat, though expected, still hurt.

Again, the nonchalant shrug. Abe was starting to hate that.

"Your grandma asked me to. Don't know why."

Dominic strode away with, whistling some tune he'd never heard before. Abe followed, far enough behind so that it Dominic couldn't possibly mistake it as following, whistling the same tune. Oh, Abe knew exactly why his grandma had asked Dominic to battle him.

To show him that he needed someone to look for him. Well, she was sadly mistaken. He could take care of himself.

Before walking up the back steps again, he glanced out into the thatch of grass that had been their makeshift battle field and swore inwardly. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't dredge up any disappointment at Poliwag's performance. After all, it was hard to be disappointed when you expected the worst. What annoyed him... was that Poliwag had actually come close to wining. He'd seen the strain on Kricketot's face, it'd been about to keel over when Dominic said the magic words and made it all go away. Bastard.

He let the door slam closed behind him, trying to not think about how the score was now: Dominc - 2. Abe - 0.


	5. Chapter 5

**EDIT FEB. 21. 2009** : This is a slightly revised Chapter 5. The original Author Notes have been replaced with this. Fixed Route 203 to Route 202, because I was apparently on crack when I wrote this the first time. STILL LOOKING FOR A BETA, AND OTHER THINGS. SO. YES. Read and Review, yes, I'll love your for an eternity.

**Disclaimer**: Do. Not. Own. Pokemon. Mild language. Characters, however, belong to me unless otherwise stated.

* * *

For all of his misgivings about leaving his home and all of his dislike of Dominic and his arrogant, self-important manner, Abe found himself waiting by the gate that lay beyond the boundary of his yard. There was still mist clinging persistently to the grass, dew sprinkled liberally across the parched blades and the scent of morning was thick in the air. The sun had yet to leave blazing footprints in the sky and nestled snugly against the horizon, as if afraid to tear itself away from the land and enter its domain high above the hills and trees. Light came in shy, timid streams, touching here and there, illuminating at first only the stones brave enough to withstand the warmth of the morning, but things had begun to stir and step into the light of dawn, awakening for the first time that day and letting life slowly flow into them from above. There was a soft, whistling breeze that rustled the bright green leaves overhead; it wasn't the dry, cackling hiss of autumn laughter, but instead a husky, lively tune whistled by summer's vitality and power. A green sound where there had only been the silent creaking of nighttime took up all of the mystery of the twinkling stars and replaced with it with the pale gold and red of sunrise, ushering in the day. Shadow lurked nearby, knowing that its time was limited and that soon it would be banished to the swaying trees of the forest and the lengths of fence posts, and slunk to and fro as its realm slowly gave way to the light. Everything, eventually, gave way to light. It was as inevitable as sunrise that things born of shadow would die in the day and things born of the light would shrink in fear of the night, even with the moon casting a protective, silver aura as far as she possibly could. However, Abe's mood did not shiver in fear of the light even though it was born of dark thoughts and barely tempered anger. It sizzled and hissed, popped and splattered, leaving scars along the smooth, previously unblemished surface of his mind. Dominic made him see read, all right. Among other things.

Abe bit his bottom lip in anticipation for Dominic's emergence from the house, feeling needles of impatience digging sharp against into his control. The pain blazed bright red radiated out from his head down through the rest of his body, sticking and poking and prodding, insistent reminders that Dominic was still not here. They had not decided on any particular time–Abe hadn't even agreed to going–so he knew that he honestly had no claim to the growing iritation he felt, but he held on to it stubbornly, fending off the nervousness that threatened to overtake him. Nervous? For what? It was not as if he needed Dominic to help him; he was fully capable of striking out on his own and not getting himself killed. But there were little, snickering thoughts at the back of his mind, hissing dark things in his ears and tormenting him with images of the past. Like the time he'd almost gotten himself killed by angering a Girafarig at the petting zoo that his class had visited when he was six. The Pokémon had reared back when Abe had, in an effort to show the other kids that he didn't need friends, pulled on the dark brown hairs in its hind legs. Front legs flailing angrily in the air, the Girafarig had belted out a screech and slammed them down, into the ground before raising it's hind legs to kick, fierce and hard, at whatever disturbance it had sensed there. Only the quick intervention of a teacher, pulling Abe aside, had saved his life. He'd been barred from any direct handling of Pokémon without careful supervision for five years after that incident and it had not been that much of a jump in logic to assume that any situations involving Abe and wild Pokémon were disasters waiting to happen, to be avoided at all costs. It hurt, carrying around the reputation as the worst trainer in the history of his school , which is exactly why he had wanted something a lot more... well, dangerous than a Poliwag to start out with. And why he had wanted to go it alone! He didn't need help, he didn't.

The creaking of the gate drew Abe's attention over his shoulder, his face glacial and expressionless, but his eyes alive and shimmering with ill-concealed emotion. His body was leaning against the slats that ran from post to post in a section just a foot away from the gate, off to the left, so it was hardly a stretch for him to look that way. The hard thing was contriving to look bored and disinterested, as if his being here was but a trick of fate. A lie. He'd woken up especially early just so he could pack without drawing any knowing smiles and condescension, but he didn't want anyone to know that. Which had been the point. It was a matter of pride, always a matter of pride. Damnable or no, pride was all that Abe had left in the world, all that he'd ever really had. But Dominic... Dominic seemed to find it funny to wittle it away like a sharp knife on wood, grating and precise. Abe didn't much appreciate it, at all, to have his carefully constructed mask be destroyed by the clumsy hands of an interloper. The creaking gate thumped closed and Dominic, as if conjured up by Abe's thoughts, stood there with his hand on it, grinning. Abe could see his white, straight teeth and tan skin and he instantly wished that there was a greater distance between them. The scent of pine needles wrapped up in sea salt attacked his nose and assaulted his senses, binding them up and holding them hostage, a captive audience. His fingers twitched against the wood of the fence slats, attempting to dig into the solid structure as if that would anchor him to reality. His nails slid along it, embedding several small spines in the sensitive pink flesh beneath the hard nails, and he winced in pain.

But it worked. The pain brought him back to reality and out of the haze tan skin and numbing smiles had thrust him into. Today, Dominic wore a tee shirt, having ditched the plaid, that was a soft, pastel blue color and less destructive toward Abe's attention span. It was a close fit, not tight, but if he strained, Abe could make out lines of Dominic's shoulders and chest, but he didn't strain. The color was nice, it contrasted pleasantly with the darkness of both Dominic's skin and hair and played with the dark blue jeans the boy wore. Jeans. Abe had not worn jeans. He had instead worn shorts, dark brown and plain, and a green shirt with a Politoed, happily clapping on the front. Dominic had worn pants yesterday as well, Abe noted as he critically let his eyes wander up and down Dominic's body. Was there something that he didn't know? The small grin that Dominic sported told him that there was indeed something he was missing, but he wouldn't ask. No. Abe pulled his lips into an even thinner line and folded his arms plainly across his chest, flat-out refusing to concede. Dominic, however, appeared indifferent and simply shrugged as he let his hand fall from the bench and stuck it into his back pocket. For his credit, he wasn't being arrogant or overbearing. He wasn't even rubbing in the fact that Abe had said he'd not be coming and was here anyway. The smile seemed genuine enough to Abe. For now anyway, Abe thought with a mild scowl. It wouldn't take long before the boasting started. He was certain.

"So..." Dominic grinned, approaching Abe as one might approach a wild Pokemon, cautious and with his muscles stretched taut and ready. "You came." Abe fought back the sudden urge to roll his eyes and merely grunted, coming away from the fence as well and adjusting the straps of his backpack that didn't really need any tampering with. Dominic chuckled at the attitude Abe put on, shaking his head. It was not the first time he'd encountered Abe's stubborn, almost unpleasant demeanor and he knew that it would definitely not be the last. What baffled him was that it seemed to be almost painful for Abe to constantly put up such a defensive front. Each time they collided and butted heads, he saw pain and sorrow in Abe's eyes, a profound loneliness that made his heart ache for the kid. Kid. He sounded old and he was only three years older! But three years in a hard world like this seemed longer and aged you beyond your years. The life of the trainer wasn't an easy one and it wasn't often a fun or worthwhile one, but occasionally, you stumbled across lessons and people that really made everything fall into perspective. Suddenly, you didn't care that you were cold, broke, and dirty because you were warmed by the thrill of winning an especially tough battle or a you made a new friend that you'd have for life. Or you managed to finally break down the walls of communication and fear that separated you from your Pokémon and you formed an unbreakable bond. Cherished treasures to be kept in your heart, those moments. Chasing them really strained you emotionally and physically, but when you finally got them...

"What are you staring at?" Abe's voice, crisp and laced with the usual venom, brought Dominic around from his daydream. He hadn't even realized he'd been staring. Curiously, he blinked at Abe and then grinned again, not even bothering to answer. Since he didn't have one, why bother? Besides, he didn't want to get involved in yet another tangle with Abe; he had no desire to start out on the wrong foot, again, and if he could help it, he'd rather keep the animosity and hate dialed down a few notches. But he could feel Abe's eyes on him now, watching and waiting for the slightest slip up so he could swoop in and destroy. The intensity of the glare made the fine hairs along his forearms stand up. Why was he wound so tightly? Didn't he know how to enjoy a moment? Or life in general? Abe lived in perhaps one of the most scenic and beautiful locales Dominic had ever witnessed and here he was, glaring and snorting like an angry Tauros. Dominic just wanted to take Abe by the scruff of the neck and push his face into the green grass and force him to breathe the fresh, crisp air or to take in the beautiful, rolling hills that surrounded them. The pressing warmth of Abe's eyes, digging for an answer was soon relegated to the back of his mind as he sighed somewhat dejectedly and pulled his hands from his pockets. They had to get a move on.

"Come on, Abe." His feet hit the path and he actually expected Abe to resist, to shout something like, 'You don't tell me what to do!' Or something equally childish. But the silence left by his voice was eaten up by gravel crunching, not angry words. Frankly, Dominic was shocked. Pleased, but shocked. However, he held no illusions that he was out of the woods with his traveling companion just yet. Oh no. There was still a world and a half to go before he could even think about letting his guard down around Abe. The boy was too angry, too bitter to be trusted with something as fragile as friendship. Dominic hummed against the roof of his mouth, the world slowly crawling out of the gray of dawn toward the brightness of day. Amazing how quickly things accepted color when the sun rose. Simply amazing.

"We're going to Jubilife?" The silence had been heavy on his shoulders, pressing him into the ground, but at last he'd found the strength to speak. To voice one of the innumerable questions that had been swimming around in his head since last night. Abe didn't shrink away after he'd spoken, he'd expended too much effort in sounding civil to let the question go to waste. His tongue felt sore from the strain of holding back a torrent of angry, biting phrases, but his eyes. Boyish and wide, they belied his aggressive nature, gentle and stormy with wonder, they awaited Dominic's answer with an eagerness Abe would never admit to feeling. But he did. Pulsing and rapid in his chest; that's where his eagerness was held prisoner by his pride.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"No." The word came out angry and harsh, a response to Dominic's raised brow. They had drawn level and now walked side-by-side, Dominic's shoulders drawn forward and his hands shoved into his front pockets while Abe held his backpack straps with his own wide palms curled around them. He felt so small and pale next to Dominic. His limbs felt thin and fragile next to Dominic's muscled, defined arms and legs, and Abe couldn't help but running his eyes from the boy's foot up to his hip-bone, watching the bold, confident stride of Dominic's legs. And his skin. Skin that refused the sun. Up from the hipbone, Abe stole a few glances at the red and white spheres attached to Dominic's thick belt, counting three. Three Pokemon? The sunlight refracted off of them, casting a slight glare, but that didn't bother Abe one bit and did very little to deter his imagination from trying to give shape and form to what lay inside of them. Dominic didn't seem like the type to train psychic types or water types for that matter, despite his ready defense of Poliwag. He was too cocky for that. Slowly, Abe's mind moved through the possibilities. Each, it picked up and carefully examined like rubies in the sun. Rolling it around, savoring it's feel before casting it aside like the rest. Fire. Definitely fire.

"What are you looking at?" Abe didn't miss the mocking tone in Dominic's voice and grit his teeth to cut off the defensive remark he'd been about to spout. His skin grew red with embarrassment at being caught staring and he abruptly and obviously turned his head to stare blankly ahead. There was nothing but more road, some of which was bathed in the shade of oak trees, but he kept his eyes there, focused and unmoving. He had to be careful. Very careful. Another slip up like that and Dominic might not let him off the hook. "Hey, Abe." Crap. So much for that thought. He grunted, signaling for Dominic to go on with what he was about to say. "Despite your lack of social grace, I'm actually glad you're coming along. The road gets lonely sometimes." Dominic turned a wide, bright smile on Abe and Abe's insides wriggled in discomfort. Why was he being so nice? Confusion flared in his face and Abe's mouth dropped open slightly, pouty lips telling his mood before he could stop them. Dominic didn't seem bothered by it, didn't even stop walking, but Abe's steps grew clumsy and faltering, his feet catching every stray rock or clod along the way.

"Whatever," he gasped out at last, shrugging in annoyed nonchalance once he'd regained his bearing. It only made Dominic grin broader and shake his head. Abe was combative, almost frustratingly so, but made things interesting. As far as Abe was concerned, Dominic was just a provocative goad-getter. Obnoxiously instigating in his methods, he was coarse and abrasive. He didn't like him. At all. He put a little space between their shoulders and cleared his throat, trying hard to focus on the road and not the grinning idiot walking next to him.

--

It took fifteen minutes to walk to Sandgem from Abe's house. He knew this because he'd walked almost every day of his life and his feet adeptly lead him through the town toward the other side of it. Dominic followed close behind, eyes large and childlike bits of gray-tinged blue glass that happily peered into store windows and hands rough and calloused as they waved to passers-by. He was friendly, Abe noted with no small measure of sardonic humor, but annoyingly so. There was strained politesse on the faces of those that he assaulted with his outgoing demeanor, but Abe didn't comment. He decided to let Dominic live in whatever delusional world he had doomed himself to by being so cheerful and happy. It was a far removal from the scowling Dominic or the annoyingly firm Dominic he'd encountered thus far, this happy-go-lucky individual with the mega-watt smile and teravolt grin, and Abe wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Of course he didn't, what was he thinking? This was Dominic. There could be nothing pleasant about him. There just couldn't be. Or else life, sweet, simple life, would be far too complicated. They emerged from the hustle and bustle of the small town with relatively little trouble and popped on to the Route, small blips on the map of the grand scheme of things. Beyond them stretched the road that would take them to Jubilife and then on to parts unknown. This was as far as Abe had ever come. The boundary line for his life, the one that separate his quiet little existence from the noisy outside world. He felt nervous standing there, somewhat off-balance and anxious.

"Gorgeous." Startled, Abe glanced at Dominic and then hardened his confuse gaze into a glare. "The trees... or did you think I was talking about you?" Dominic didn't even look bothered or at Abe for that matter; his voice escaped in a fluid tone that was devoid of poetic devices, but bare-bones and pure nevertheless. There was a simplistic appreciation for the landscape in Dominic's bearing, standing with his hands folded over the back of his neck and legs spread just apart. The sky was cloud-splotched blue. Vast and boundless as it stretched languidly out over them, touching the trees only at the very farthest point. The trees themselves rose in quiet protest against humanity's protest. They were stoic reminders that this was still nature's world and humans were only squatters on the land that they claimed. The path that they would be following cut through the grove of trees and was seen from the hilltop they stood upon, but it vanished at some points where the forest ate it up, only to reappear on the other side of some particular thicket. Starly and Staravia flew overhead, calling to each other and weaving stories across the sky, mingling with the clouds and staining their feathers with nascent raindrops. So calm and beautiful were the lands of Sinnoh. With gently sloping mountains topped with snow, unlike the sharp mountain peaks and deep caverns of Johto and Kanto, Sinnoh was beautiful and scenic, soothing in every way. There was a softness to the landscape that drew a pleased, content sigh from Dominic's lips.

Abe cleared his throat and abruptly began making his way down the hill, leaving Dominic to whatever fantasies he was conjuring up in his head. He didn't have to know what they were to know that they were dangerous. And wonderful. Dominic seemed like the type to have more imagination than common sense, and he'd already proven that he had an uncanny ability to ruin Abe's plans to remain cool and detached. While had indeed remained detached, he had lost his cool several times and only barely managed to hold on to it a few times in their short association. So, it was for the best that he put some distance between the two of them. As much as he could without losing the benefit of a traveling partner. Which, at the moment, he wasn't seeing. So far, he had managed to make it from his front porch to the other part of Sandgem without much trouble or hassle. They'd spoken very little and Abe felt more annoyed than anything else by Dominic. Why was he even bothering with the boy? Man? Whatever the hell Dominic was.

The rustling of bushes brought Abe's thoughts and feet to a stop. Fear. Excitement. Happiness. Dread. All of them braided tight fists around his heart and stomach, dragging both of his vital organs up through his throat and tying them together to play jump rope. Dominic was now behind him, still grinning and as usual, clueless. Abe clenched his jaw and glared at the boy, giving him a physical cue to be quiet. Maybe it was a Pokémon! Maybe. Of course it was. The weight of empty pokeballs now made its presence felt, burning against his thigh on the inside of his pockets. But for Dominic appeared to be unaffected by the bush shifting and continued forward on the beaten old dusty road. Abe stood, mouth somewhat agog. He was going to just walk by? Weren't trainers supposed to attack anything and everything that moved and reassembled a Pokémon so they could capture and train the strongest, toughest team out there? Morning sunlight illuminated golden blond locks and Abe pushed them out of his cobalt blue eyes, focusing intensely on the bush that was wiggling to and fro. It was five or six feet to the right of Dominic, who was now two or so feet in front of Abe, and his muscles all bore down, waiting for the creature to make its grand appearance.

"You coming or not?" Dominic paused and stared back at Abe, who was now twitching with excitement over something or another. He didn't get that kid. At all. One minute, he's cold and withdrawn, the next he's shivering with silent joy? Dominic's brows knit together and he stood with his arms folded boredly over his shoulder, waiting for this farce of an event to unravel. The Pokémon would reveal itself, Abe would battle it, and try to capture it. It was as plain as day what was happening and Dominic felt bored already. He'd almost forgotten how cliche traveling around as a trainer could get. Cliche meant boring and uninteresting; like watching a movie he'd seen and lived through one hundred times already. He had hoped to save Abe the trouble of the normal trials and tribulations of a boring start, but boy seemed dead-set of meeting every cliche hurdle with gusto and zeal. Rolling his eyes, he waited patiently as the rustling grew louder before the Pokemon made its much anticipated arrival.

"Abra?" Abe stood there, confused and disappointed in the meager offerings of the bush before him. The Abra didn't exactly stand, more like slouched over, and stared at him through slitted eyes, curious and attentive. Abe cast the bush a pout before he wiped the expression from his face, setting his mouth in a determined line. "Not exactly what I was thinking..." He'd wanted a Shinx or something just as tough that would evolve into a strong, powerful Luxray. But Kadabra and then Alakazam were pretty powerful. Abra would do just fine. "But oh well. This works. Don't mess this up, Poliwag!" He threw the ball into the air, Dominic frowned. Abe hadn't learned a thing. Sure, it'd only been last night when they'd had their first battle, but come on. Didn't he know a thing or a two about respect by now? His scowl only depenened when he saw Poliwag skid to a halt in front of the Abra, knowing already what Abe was going to do. "Bubble!" Poliwag flinched at Abe's sharp voice and after hesitating for a moment, it immediately began pushing the bubbles out through its mouth.

Oval-shaped and light, they left Poliwag's mouth and quickly traversed the small distance between it and Abra, pelting the yellow Pokemon and driving it back. Abra's claws dug into the grass, it's arms flailing out awkwardly for balance, a small squeak of fear emitting from it. Why was this happening? What had it done wrong? Abra's body dissolved in a white light that spirited it away, this time behind Poliwag. It was sitting now, body aching from the onslaught of the bubbles, it's armor plating vibrating from the force of the attack. After Abe closed his mouth, he stamped his foot. "Come on, Poliwag! Get a grip!" Poliwag's small body gave a shudder as it turned and moved to close in on Abra, but Abra had again vanished and reappeared behind Poliwag, arms folded and legs crossed, an intensely peeved look upon its face. It didn't know exactly what was going on here, but now it was starting to regret coming out of hiding. The possibility of food had enticed it from its nap as it had sensed the presence of strangers, but it'd been attacked and accosted. It just wanted to go home.

"Abe."

"What?" Abe whirled on Dominic, eyes flashing and nostrils flaring. He didn't have time for this. He had a Pokemon to capture.

"Abra's preparing to attack," Dominic said offhandedly, giving a shrug. Which Abe only growled in response to and turned around. He gasped. Abra's claws were extended and a dark, crackling energy was building in the space between them. Poliwag was cowering, its body shivering and eyes squeezed shut.

"Ice beam!" Abe squealed. Poliwag's eyes cracked open and it pursed its lips, letting a small burst of blue, jagged energy from its mouth. A shame that Abra chose that moment to loose the orb on them all. The two opposing forces of energy collided and richoeted off from each others, sending sparks and bolts of energy shooting off at random angles. Poliwag was struck dead-center by a dark-energy infused shard of its own ice beam and was thrown rolling along the ground toward Abe's feet. He gave it a disgusted grunt and recalled it, red beam hissing as it wrapped around Poliwag and drew it into the safety of the Pokeball. He flicked his gaze toward Abra and a smile immediately skipped across his face. It was lying there, seemingly unconscious. This was his chance. Seizing the moment, he threw an empty Pokeball at Abra and bit his bottom lip, splitting it and splashing blood over his tongue.

As the copper taste filled his mouth, the Pokeball finished shaking, signifying Abra's capture. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and snatched it up happily, grinning at Dominic who merely shook his head and shrugged. "I suppose this means we can go?" Abe's eyes narrowed and his displeasure was evident as he tucked away his two Pokeballs. "How'd Poliwag learn Ice Beam?" He stood there, turned back toward the entrance to Route 202, but held Abe in his stare. Abe. Who shrugged and sneered as if he knew something that could set the world on its head. Dominic hated that look. There were two possibilities. Either a TM or Poliwag had come with it. Rather like how Abra had come with Shadow Ball. That such an inexperienced, vindictive person had access to such powerful attacks made his skin crawl. Abe was a danger to himself and others.

"I guess you're not the only one with tricks, huh, Dominic?" With that, he shouldered past Dominic, bumping the boy aside and stalking cockily toward Jubilife.

Dominic's lips twitched at the sides as he watched Abe saunter on ahead. "I guess not."


	6. Chapter 6

**A****/N : **Woo. It's only been… SEVERAL months since my last update. Uh. I could tell you that I was super busy and make tons of excuses, but that would be garbage and stupid and lame and bad. So I won't. I'm sorry, guys. I let you down, I'll try not to again. Now that I've groveled and beg for forgiveness (PLEASE FORGIVE ME, PLEASE), I'll talk a bit about the story.

SO. SO. SO. I was going to take down Chapter 5 and redo it and just try make things better because I hated it so. Because I wrote this a while back, when I was relearning how to write and trying to find my range with this story and its characters, and my style has improved so much. BUT. WELL. I decided that I wasn't going to do it and that I was instead going to post up Chapter 6 and do everything else from now on in the new style. You'll note that there isn't AS MUCH overwriting here. There is a much more relaxed flow to the writing and it's not so overwrought. I can't believe I used "sensitive pink flesh" in one of the earlier chapters. Just… no. Boo me, sadface, yo. So. Not as much overwriting. The flow is better, the feel is better, and more importantly, I think I can sustain my creativity and voice now. Still, looking for tips and idea so hit me with your best shot, I'll love you for days.

A lot of stuff happened in this chapter… without stuff happening? I mean, there was a lot of walking here. A lot of development… in the mind. Sort of. OH. AND BICKERING. OMG. LIKE CHILDREN. But I personally think it's adorable when the bicker. Yay Dominic. But yes, hold on tight. I DO have things in mind for the later chapters and I have a rough idea for the next chapter and expect to see some more Pokemon. Just not in this Chapter, sorry. I mean. There ARE Pokemon, this is a Pokemon fanfic, but they aren't, "OMG, I WANT 2 BTTLE U, CUZ, DO IT." But yes. Next Chapter, there might be a battle. Maybe.

Also. And maybe this should have been at the top, but I noticed in Chapter Five, I mentioned Route 203 and I went over the map again, just looking, and noticed that 203 connects Jubilife to Oreburgh, and it's Route 202 that runs between Sandgem and Jubilife, which is where Abe and Dominic really are. SO. I'll probably go back and correct that... I just don't know though, because Abra don't really appear on that route in the game... Still, this is my fanfiction so I guess if I wanted to put an Abra there, I could. Hm. Yeah. CHANGING IT. Anyhoo. Enough of my notes, get on over to the story, you crazy cats.

**Warnings **: I don't own Pokemon… I might stop adding this in… But for now I DON'T OWN POKEMON. The characters Abe and Dominic are mine though. There are one or two bad words lurking around in this chapter so you're warned. Nothing sexual, nothing gore-y.

* * *

The bramble crackled as it admitted them into itself, underscoring the fact that they were foreign additions to the landscape, incongruous parts of a green and brown whole. The scenery was the familiar array of trees and rocks and worn-down dirt routes and hills rising in the distance. Familiar to Abe at least, but Dominic had very little trouble adjusting, being the hardy, outdoors-loving type. As a matter of fact, it was one of few intersections between the two of them and it should have brought them to some sort of truce, a mutual appreciation for nature. But it only accentuated their differences with the increased pressure of commonality. It thickened the silence, made it into tense, terse minutes of protracted quiet that was interspersed with the aforementioned crackling as they walked, and walked, and walked. It had been almost two hours since Abe had captured the Abra which meant that it had been two hours since the last spoken word between the two of them. Two hours of not speaking and of walking into the heart of the wilderness with just the sound of walking--shoes rolling pebbles and breaking twigs and of fingers straying just beyond the edge of the path to tousle the leaves of especially large shrubs--to show that they were in fact moving and not just mulling about in the breathings vacuum of wordlessness.

There were so many questions Abe wanted to ask now that he had an Abra. How to feed it, how to talk to it, how to make sure that it was okay after capturing it. Would it be too dark in the Pokeball, should he let it out? Was it big enough, did he need to check it for insects and sickness? And there were many emotions that came along with the added pressure of raising -two- Pokemon now; he felt both uneasy and excited about the whole thing, but they were so far ingrained in each other that he didn't know which was which anymore. But these things, all of these things, just built up in his chest like gathering steam with no way out because he was not going to ask Dominic the first thing about anything but where they were going and how long it would take. The back of his tongue was raw from chewing, and the flat taste of that chewing filled up his mouth in like the ghost of all of those unasked questions and unaired emotions. There was still the issue of Dominic's domineering entrance into his life too. He felt a little silly to be holding a grudge, but all he had to do to get rid of that silly little notion was think about how it had felt to be pushed backward into the stream. And just like that, poof! Gone was his fleeting desire to drop what it was he held against Dominic.

Maybe that was why he felt so tense being around Dominic. All of those unresolved questions and fears and emotions. What he needed to do was make sure that they were on the right page. He needed to make sure that Dominic was there to provide him with answers to his questions or this whole thing was going to turn into one substantial waste of time. At the moment, Dominic was simply a blur on the periphery of Abe's vision. He hovered there like a dark specter smeared around the edge of a drinking glass. With the sun breaking in shimmering beads through the occasional openings in the treetop canopies, Dominic's presence glittered in the shapelessness of his current side-glance containment. But even blurry and out of focus, he made Abe's stomach tighten. Disgruntled, he kicked at a rock in front of him and watched it skim over the dusty ground, rolling through the smaller, smoother pebbles in a big hunk of hardened orange clay. And then, when the pace of their walking brought him closer to it, he kicked it yet again and watched as it sailed, this time bounding and hopping whenever its irregular edges caught the ground. Dominic was humming again, humming and being smug and being annoying. The sound of it worked through his mind and draped all of his thoughts in the lazy torpor of a summer afternoon. Then he sighed and dug his fingers further down into his pants, scratching at imaginary itches and trying to keep his eyes still and steady on the road ahead.

But it wasn't easy walking with your head so straight and focused. It just wasn't. Partly because there wasn't much to see out in front except for the overhanging branches loaded in green that cast shadowy footfalls across their path. And partly because the more he didn't want to look at Dominic, he found that he did want to look at him, to really address him and get to the matter of clearing things up between them. And the more he did want to, the more he chewed on his tongue and made a cud out of his chewed up thoughts and whims that tasted bittersweet like the half-remembered dreams of childhood. Which always left a foul taste in his mouth and made him want to turn his head and spit it out. But he didn't dare do that because all it took was one movement to make it suddenly okay to turn and look at Dominic. To speak freely to him, to break the strained, tenuous calm between them. So his gaze stayed the course, and he didn't even blink for fear of catching Dominic's reflection on an eyelash or an eyelid. His eyes burned from the strain, burned from dryness, and whenever the burst white and abruptly overhead, he always winced and sucked hissing air in through his teeth. And the one thing that could have been comforting--that Dominic felt as tightly wound and frustrated as he did--was just not so; Dominic seemed to be the opposite of those things. Even in his mind, Abe had a hard time imagining Dominic as ever looking uptight, tense, or worried. Because that involved being able to think, and Dominic probably found thinking to be extremely difficult.

That thought made Abe smile. Yes. He may have been a little tense at the moment, but at least he wasn't a meathead. At least he wasn't some musclebound hick. He'd always been refined for his age and better for his circumstances, his mother had said to him again and again. He was special. Special. Better than those others, and they were just jealous. Jealous! So what. Let them have their money and their whatevers. He'd grown out of being overweight and out of caring what other people felt and thought about him! As the words and their accompanying pictures formed in his mind, Abe's chest pushed out and his shoulders rose with pride. His faint smile deepened again into a cocksure smirk and his steps became permeated by a haughty swagger, the one he'd been practicing. The entirety of his presence was restructuring itself, lengthing, thickening, becoming stronger, bigger than it was. He was swelling beyond his bounds and expanding beyond the childishness of Dominic's games. He wouldn't play along anymore, of course not. No. Certainly not. He was better than all of that now. He didn't even have to -not- look at Dominic anymore. Just to prove it to himself and to the rest of the universe which had always seemed to doubt him, he glanced at Dominic and found that Dominic was watching him with a cocked brow and a slightly curious expression. Some part of him faltered and retreated, but Abe held on to his bravado and pushed it in Dominic's direction with a raised brow of his own.

"What?" Abe asked this without losing his smirk, said it around the smirk actually in an artificially deep voice.

Dominic shrugged and responded with a placid, "Nothing." Oh, of course, nothing. Abe was going to respond to that but found that Dominic was not done speaking, "I was just wondering if you always broke out into diabolical smiles. Planning my murder so soon?" Laughter crept in at the edges of Dominic's voice and Abe didn't have to have to look far for something offending in the tone. The words felt like a slap in the face thought they had been delivered in an amused, humorous way. Just like that, Dominic had turned him into a joke.

Abe frowned then turned back to watching the trees, burning up on the inside from humiliation while Dominic looked on with that stupid chuckle of his. Already, Abe had begun to associate Dominic's chuckle with hurtful things and hurt feelings, with feeling inferior and infinitely little. It made him feel small and insubstantial and it was the stupidest sound he'd ever heard, ever heard! He listened to it wind itself up in the creaking branch sways and the tilting lilt of pine trees further off, and rolled his right hand into a knuckle-cracking fist. He would have liked nothing more at that moment than to tell Dominic to shut up and to ask him just what was so funny, because he certainly didn't find that joke funny. And if he found the thought of his own murder to be funny, which he probably did. Morbid, stupid, idiotic, unsophisticated… He was so entrenched in his hate that he did not hear the end to the laughter when it finally came. And he had become so accustomed to the quiet that when it broke gently over his shoulders, he didn't even flinch.

His footsteps grew wider apart and he pulled ahead of Dominic, almost stomping into a small lead. His hands were sweating in his pockets and beads of sweat went down the contours of his neck in cool rivers. The sun kissed prickling kisses up the back of his neck to his nape, reminding him that it was afternoon which meant more time with Dominic, alone in the forest. And speaking of Dominic, he heard the sound of his casual footsteps which themselves seemed to be laughing. And the humming returned. If this was adventure, this walking business, he wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to turn around and go… and go… he could not commit to the completion of that thought. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to see if Dominic had read his mind, if he was smug in his correct assumption that Little Aberley wanted to go… to go… Abe narrowed his eyes at Dominic, who had his hands folded behind his head, his eyes closed, and his lips spread in a smile. What did he have to smile about anyway?

"You can stop staring at me now, Abe," Dominic said, and Abe did just that, he turned around abruptly and sniffed, trying to distance himself from the shame of being caught.

"I wasn't staring," Abe countered after a few seconds, obviously not amused. Dominic snorted, but Abe persisted, "Someone has a mighty big opinion of himself." There was a sneer in his voice though he made an attempt to keep his tone casual if somewhat overly accusing.

"Yes," Dominic agreed nonchalantly. Then, with a yawn, "Someone sure does."

The implication wasn't lost on Abe who grunted, stepped on a dirt cloud harder than he needed to, and settled into another stony silence.

"When do you want to stop for lunch." Dominic's voice drifted over Abe's shoulder, but he didn't acknowledge it, just left it to hang there. It was obviously a trap to try and lure him into a state of defenselessness. If he said he wanted to stop then and there, Dominic would simply push aside his wish, maybe later, he could already hear it. Or if he said later, Dominic would probably sneer and call his bluff and say that it was stupid to go for so long without eating. Dominic thought he was so smart. "Well?" Abe bit down, felt the flexing of his jaws and he ground into silence. "Well?" Dominic was walking right next to him now, smelling like the ocean and like the land and like the trees. Abe gave him a pointed look or tried to, his expression was displeased, but Dominic just stared at him expectantly, as if he had lost his right mind.

"Well?"

"What are you, a broken record? Shut up and let me think!" Abe spat this out, and feeling his throat lock up and turn hot.

Dominic snickered, wiped at the corner of his mouth said that it was better to say it, not spray it. Abe snorted then grunted and stopped. He raised his hands and motioned at the surroundings. "What about right now, then?" He was hungry, but he more wanted Dominic to just stop talking and to crawl back into whatever hole he'd crawled out of.

They stood there in the middle of the road, just looking at each other, just standing there. Abe didn't even think to breath, he didn't trust himself to breath. But Dominic had his lips pursed and his eyes moving over the scenery. He was kicking rhythmically at the ground, emitting regular tufts of loose grit and dust upward which were swept into nothing by the passing breeze. He seemed to move, everything about him seemed to move. Abe's hands twitched in his pockets. Why couldn't he just answer? Either yes or no, was it so hard? Was it? Nervousness touched every part of his mind and it was getting to be a little unbearable, all of this standing around and waiting.

"Maybe a little further, huh?" Dominic motioned to the next hill. "We can get up there in about five minutes and we'll eat there. Unless you want to eat and walk," he gave a shrug at this and Abe's shoulders slumped as he dumbly followed the line of Dominic's finger," but I don't suggest it. Bad for digestion." Abe blinked stupidly and began walking in that direction, dragging his feet as he went, leaving Dominic to whatever it was that Dominic wanted to do. Bullshit. Walking and eating was probably great for your digestion. It was probably better than sitting and eating! The path Dominic wanted to go took them off the main route and on to one that was more grass than dirt. It meandered under shady trees, for which he was grateful, and it ended not too far from where the creek flowed out and eastward. A grassy hill top rose to block out their previous route from site and suddenly it was just that hill and the thick stand of trees at their sides. But oh well, he could deal with this. Dominic seemed to be enjoying it, though, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

There were Pokemon on this part of the route. Abe could hear their calls and cries passing as reverberating echoes through the treetops. There was so much more active noise here! The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he started once or twice at an oddly shaped root hidden by shadow and sticky with black dirt, the ones that looked like Pokemon, but really weren't anything but oddly constructed nature. Dominic laughed at these incidents and Abe sent him foul looks for his trouble. When he nearly jumped out of his skin because cool leaves tickled at his skin, he stopped dead-still and folded his arms over his chest. It was dark and creepy and strange and Dominic was probably trying to lure him out of the normal way so that he could murder him with little trouble.

"That's it! That's it! I'm done! Not going another inch until you tell me exactly where it is we're going." Breath quivered at the back of this throat and he tried and failed to swallow the trembling half-sigh. It came out instead as a malformed whimper. His eyes were wide and glossy, his mouth small and kittenish; he felt, again, small.

But Dominic just shook his head and smiled, motioned with a wide palm further along the path. "Just a little bit more, Abe. We're almost there." He was disgustingly casual about this whole thing.

"Oh no. No, no, no. 'Just a little bit more, Abe' someone who believes that, Dominic. Where are we going?" His voice filled up the shadows on that last part, the question expanded out into the distance that was beyond him and beyond Dominic.

And Dominic again, just shook his head and smiled. "I told you, I showed you. We're going over there, for lunch. Unless you're not hungry…" He phrased the last part like a challenge, a dare. Abe could tell.

"You know I'm hungry, Dominic. You know it! You're just… just… taking advantage of me!" Of course he was! Oh, it was so painfully clear now!

"Taking…" Dominic blinked. And blinked. And blinked again. He seemed lost, or was just playing coy, which seemed infinitely more likely.

"Taking ADVANTAGE. What, are you dumb as well as sneaky? The two seem mutually exclusive."

Something seemed to snap between them then and Abe saw a dark shadow fall across Dominic's face. His mouth pursed, and his eyes darkened. His broad shoulders and muscular arms seemed then, in that terrifying moment, to grow larger and Abe became aware again of just how much larger, how much stronger than himself Dominic was. He swallowed, but Dominic didn't advance.

"Right. Well, enjoy being the dinner of every Pokemon within the next five miles. See you around, Abe." And just like that, he turned around and took three steps. But then, he paused and seemed to fight with himself. The quarrel, whatever it was, didn't last long enough for Abe to say much because just like that, it was over and Dominic was walking away from him again.

"Dominic. Dominic. Dominic!" Cold fear splashed upward through his stomach and before panic could settle down into him, he was walking briskly after Dominic into the shady, leafy bush. A twig snapped and gave way beneath his foot and Dominic glanced over his shoulder. Even at a distance, it was disconcerting.

"Oh, so you believe me now, do you?" Cold, distant, tired. Abe walked at a respectfully slow pace, trying to preserve his dignity like he hadn't just shrieked like a frightened little child.

He gave a shrug that Dominic couldn't see and swaggered nearer, "I didn't say that… but I don't think it's a good idea to get separated. You don't know the area and I'd hate for something -terrible- to happen to you." He nodded to emphasize his point and when the word 'terrible' came up, he said it with as much gravity as he could muster, forgetting or maybe not caring to be sincere.

"Yes. We wouldn't want anything terrible to happen to the person with the map," was Dominic's dry response. But he did stop walking long enough for Abe to catch up. He sighed. Frowned. Then sighed again. "Look, Abe--"

Abe's eyes remained glossy and large. Childlike and clear. Windows to his fear, to his naivety.

Dominic grunted, returned to walking. "Never mind, we're almost there, just up this hill."

Relief unfurled icy and damp in his stomach. Carefully, quietly, gratefully, he followed Dominic under a low branch then up the side of the massive hill whose curve they had been following. And up into the sun. They sat on the hillside, listening to the voice of the creek gurgling as it wound out through the forest, beneath the shadowy limbs. They listened to the sounds of clouds passing by and the sound of wind scraping the blades of grass low. But mainly, they listened to the sound of unsaid things dripping to the space between them.

Quietly, they dedicated themselves to a cold lunch and to getting on the road again.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N :** Omg, I was going to post this tomorrow, because I mainly wanted to be lazy and take some extra time to make this chapter huge. I decided that I wanted to post a Chapter on Wedensday shortly after I posted Chapter Six. What was that… Sunday? Saturday? One of those days. Anyway. I wanted to do that, but then I got sick, sick like whoa yesterday and then the whole glitch thing and I was just not sure if I was ever going to get this written. But I did! A day early! Huzzah. Look for the next chapter really soon. On to reviews!

Some of you guys aren't with me anymore. That makes me sad. PLEASE COME BACK. THE JOURNEY ISN'T OVER.

So. Rust Tea. VERY glad you could stop by. Holy cow, I really am a huge fan. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the review, and I sent you a more detailed response so I won't repeat all of that here, but thanks again for reading and reviewing. Your thoughts really mean a lot to me. So, yes, again thanks.

**Glacial Eidolon** : Okay. SERIOUSLY, YOU MADE MY DAY. YAY. I read your review and did a little squee-dance in my head because I try very hard to make characters who are multi-dimensional and aren't just one-note. And it's a real validation of that effort when someone points that out about your work SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. I think I may propose marriage to you or something. Yeah. The pacing is a bit slow, I think it might pick up a little bit, but knowing my writing, it's probably not going to go too fast just yet. Mainly because this is three chapters AND STILL the first day that Abe's out on a journey AWAY from home and I think that that sort of thing needs to be treated carefully and developed. So, the first chapters are definitely going to be a bit slower than some of the six days in one chapter stories out there mainly because this day has special significance to the character and to the realism of the story. Still, later on, I don't think I'll have seven chapters for one day. Just really depends on the circumstances. And for sure, I agree with you that it's been a lot of character being thrown about and not so much STUFF happening. I've been hitting myself daily going, "OKAY, BRANDON. STUFF NEEDS TO HAPPEN." But I wanted to make sure that I had worked my way into some sort of understanding of Abe and Dominic and their dynamic and more importantly, I wanted the readers to REALLY get it. And now that I think that's happened, I can get some actual plot going on. And maybe uncover some of the sketchy background info that I didn't even know until now. So, yay. Glad you liked it though! And I hope you do stick around. Your comments make this all worthwhile and remind me why I'm doing this!

As for this chapter. Well, THE PLOT STARTS MOVING AHEAD. I had intended for this to be a chapter of EPIC LENGTH. But then I wrote what then would have been the first half and took a break. Then I got back on this about 7:30 and decided that, no, I was going to save the then back half for Chapter 8 and so on and so forth. So. This Chapter ended up being a bit shorter than the one before it, but that's mainly because the end of this chapter felt so appropriate and natural. And anything else would have been a chore to read, not to mention irrelevant to the front half of the chapter. SO. CHAPTER EIGHT. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THAT ONE. But you also don't want to miss this one so read it all, really. Gets rather interesting. Chapter Eight, there be battles, yo, for sure, so look forward to that. When this story gets Pokemon-y again. A little bit. Again, apologies for the crappy ending. WORKING ON THAT, HONEST.

Okay. That's the end of that heinously long Author's note. Sorry about that.

Read. Enjoy. Review, if you like. PLEASE?

Also : I don't own Pokemon. Honest.

* * *

"So, when my Grandma told you to take me with you…"

They had been eating in strained, polite silence for five minutes before Abe had finally dared to break it. And after he'd formed the words with his lips, he had felt both a whooshing sense of relief and a sense of sinking dread; silence, once broken, was irreparably altered into something grotesquely different. In the seconds immediately following the question, he felt oddly lightheaded and still yet curious. Both to the answer to the question itself, but also why he'd randomly asked it. His eyes tilted down and he did not see Dominic swallow back his cold ham and cheese thickly; Abe's stomach tightened up and he hated himself for that moment of weakness as his mind gave rise to multitudes of consequences, things that he would he more than likely find himself stumbling over in the dark unknown of the very near future. The quiet between them, which before then had been stiff and rigid became brittle and vulnerable. He wished he hadn't asked that question. An echo of his voice began to whisper in the back of his mind, high-pitched, whiney, annoying. Why? Why? Why? That word smacked dull and clunking into his other thoughts and there was a lot of fuss in his mind. Why was he such an idiot, why was he such a foolish, dumb, helpless, idiot?

"She failed to mention what a pain in the ass you are, but that's a very accurate depiction of it." What? A depiction of what? His brow arched and Dominic simply shrugged. His voice had sounded ominously bitter beneath its casual, fluid drawl. He was sitting, but more leaning back on his hands, with a face full of sun and a mouth full of white bread and cheap ham, the only ham his mother could afford--Abe felt ashamed of that ham. "She did -tell- me to take you. There wasn't really much room for discussion," he clarified when he saw Abe's expression. It did not do much in the way of clarifying, but it did give Abe a cheap, dirty feeling inside of his stomach. So, he'd been handed off just like that? And where did Dominic get off calling him in a pain in the ass? If anyone was a pain in the ass, it was definitely Dominic. Still. And at this he had to hide his smile behind a guise of chewing and squinting beneath the slanted sun rays at the distant bend of the hill dipping back into the dark, shady woods. It did sound like his Grandmother. Exactly like her.

"I'm not a pain in the ass." Finally able to muster up a look of annoyance, he turned that expression on to Dominic, who laughed. It wasn't the same chuckle that Abe had quickly learned to hate. Instead, it was a hollow, insulting laugh that wasn't really a laugh so much as it was a slap in the face. Maybe that stupid chuckle wasn't so bad after all. This was Dominic's way of showing that he was still annoyed. Abe's mouth pulled back into a line, as much of a line as his lips could make, they'd always been slightly oversized and puffy. Not fleshy, like Dominic's, but pouty. One of the things that made him look and feel far younger than he intended or wanted to look or feel. But why Dominic should have been annoyed, he didn't know and told himself that he didn't care. He had spent far too much time already being concerned about Dominic and the space between them and the annoyance that they seemed to pass back and forth as easily as the air they breathed; actually, Abe realized, he much preferred to swap annoyance than to share the air he had to breathe with Dominic.

"How can you say that and believe it? And that's the sad part," Dominic leaned forward, put his forearms on his knees and grinned. "You do believe it. That you're not a pain in the ass." Ironic awe filled his voice and his eyes became wide and large as if he was admiring some natural configuration of impressive magnitude. Abe grunted and took another mouthful of sandwich which emptied his hands of everything but the crumbs. Pointedly, as pointedly as he could, he ignored the snickering. He'd only wanted to ask a question. The hate he'd started to feel for himself deepened and spilled a little on to Dominic; he hated Dominic. "Come on now, stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting." Which was something children did and he was definitely not a child anymore. His eyes cast blue and daring at Dominic, daring him to question that hidden message. However, Dominic's eyes showed no sign that the flickering connotation had been communicated to them as they met the impassiveness of Abe's own eyes and dropped their temperature into a cool, indifferent stare. Dominic's mouth, however, was fixed into a bright smile, teeth white and catching the sun, hair dark and soft about his face, and skin tan and full of sunshine; he had the peculiar aura of ten pounds of sun stuffed into a three pound sack shaped like a hick. Abe wanted to punch that smile right off of Dominic's face, but instead he reached for another sandwich.

"I'm not pouting, I'm not an asshole; you're getting to be kind of dull, Abe," he said with mock concern as he watched Abe go for the sandwich. His smile, in the context of what he'd said, turned sour and cold in Abe's eyes and for a few seconds, Abe didn't say anything and dedicated his focus to the mechanical process of opening up the lunch pail and pulling out a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap. The plastic wrap came loose noisily as he undid it; he could feel Dominic's eyes on him, watching him, expecting some incredibly witty reply (what other sort of reply could be expected from him, after all), and taking measure of this momentary lull in combat. And then he raised the sandwich to his lips, and studied Dominic over the brown fringe of its crust.  
"So, when my Grandma forced me on to you, why didn't you just say no? After all, you didn't know her. You didn't know me. You didn't owe us a thing." Calmly delivered, the opposite of every other word he'd said all day which in no small way was a victory on to itself. He had risen above the occasion. A warm smugness built up inside, he was proud. But more importantly, he wanted to know.

But, typically, Dominic was nonchalant about the whole thing. But at least he wasn't on to anything, he didn't suspect sincerity in the curiosity Abe seemed to be showing and for that Abe was thankful. He hated to think what would have happened if Dominic had actually known that there was information he had that Abe did not. It would have been a catastrophe, utter humiliation. Though, that wasn't the case and Dominic simply lay full back into the grass and folded his hands behind his head. So what if there was a question put to him. So what if Abe was waiting for an answer. So what if it was rude to just lie down when there was someone else present. So what if it was the middle of the day and they were in the middle of the woods and there was still a lot of walking left to do in the day. Abe was starting to suspect that there was a lot of "so what" in Dominic's life and now that he had become a part of it (and so what if it was only in a temporary way)there would become a lot of so what in his own life and he didn't like that. The sun broke over the hillside in white-yellow beams and then worked downward through the swaying long-tipped grass, rippling out over the breeze-stroked diagonal of the hill until it vanished down into the crackling bramble below. And Dominic lay in the direct path of this light, his body full of the collisions of light beams and surrounded by hissing, rasping grass. Long and lean and muscular. Carefree and chewing at what was left of his sandwich in his mouth. Here they were again. Waiting on an answer.

"Come on, Abe," he yawned out after almost a minute of protracted peace. He didn't open his eyes to address this at Abe and spoke lazily, as if it were either too obvious or too unimportant to matter anything, maybe a bit of both. "She'd just fed me and given me a place to sleep. Plus, it seemed like a good idea at the time." He shrugged in the grass, and Abe wanted to say something, but he said nothing. "I mean, I guess I've always liked traveling around in groups. And I had this picture, I guess. You. And me. Walking all the way to Pastoria or hitchhiking on the backs of trucks." His voice was warmer now, nearly affectionate. Abe snorted quietly. But Dominic eyes opened and there was again derisive connotation to everything that Abe did and said and thought. He stared at Abe, his eyes hardening, his jaw tightening. "And I'd thought that maybe since she was so adamant about you being a good kid and just needing to get out there, you know, to see it all, make some sense of yourself and all. That I'd give you the benefit of the doubt." Abe flinched inwardly, but his tongue and met Dominic's cold, level stare. "But I see I was right about you the first time. You're just a Poliwag beater." Casual again, but he didn't look away and he didn't shrug. He remained, very much, attentive to Abe's face.

He wanted to see what damage he'd done, didn't he? But Abe showed him noting. He concealed the hurt of it and clung to the anger swelling up inside of him and to the indignation that came with it. How dare Dominic! He didn't know anything! Nothing! Abe clenched his fist against his knee then thumped it into the grass, feeling it dry against his fist. "You don't know the first thing about me, Dominic!" His voice shook with his anger and he felt his arguments grow weak and wilt in the haze of his anger. He'd lost. He knew it before he made another sound, but it didn't matter anymore. "You don't know anything about me or my family and you can't just… can't just…"

"Can't just what?" Bored, insultingly carefree. Dominic was lying back again, with his eyes closed. As if he didn't have to worry about Abe, at all. And Abe knew that he couldn't hurt Dominic but he'd felt comfort in the idea that maybe Dominic hadn't known that.

"Can't just make insinuations like that!" Abe threw his ahnds high then pointed his finger at Dominic. "You can't just make insinuations about me and my family. You're the asshole! You're the one who doesn't know anything!" His finger quivered and its tip deviated from its target once or twice from the spasms running down to his shoulder.

"I didn't… I… wait…what?" Dominic sat up, blinking, mouth slightly ajar.

"You know what!" His hand was flung out to the side in a violent exaggeration of a gesticulating motion that had nothing to do with what it was that he was trying to say. But in some ways, it said exactly what he couldn't with words. "You know just what I'm talking about!"

"No… I don't." The bored tone ventured near Dominic's voice, just enough to stain it with coming frustration. "I don't have the first clue as to what you're talking about, man. Why don't you just calm down, huh?" His blinking was what betrayed that he was genuinely starting to worry. But Abe didn't care anymore. His fire was lit and he was going to have his say.

"You don't get to tell me to calm down after you've just insulted my family and me! You don't!" He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling in wide waves of agitated movement. There was a clanging staccato to his words and his volume began to soak through the grass so that even it felt as if it'd break from the noise of it. His face was red now, the prominent ridges of his cheeks clear due to his snapping jaws pulling tight and down in a scowling grimace. Where did Dominic get off? What made him so special? What exactly?

"I didn't just insult your family, you…" Abe's mouth moved to counter that, but Dominic raised a hand and closed his eyes to take a long breath in. "Let me finish, jeesh." He made a sucking sound with the right side of his jaw and Abe fisted some grass. "You're hysterical." Abe snorted and made another exaggerated sound that sounded something like a sigh, as if he'd expected it, as if he'd counted on Dominic "trying to change the script on him." Oh, yes. Try and divert guilt. His eyes rolled. "Really, Abe." He spoke calmly, patiently, quietly. "You're being hysterical and I think you might just be losing your mind."

Abe stared. And Dominic stared back. Was that sarcasm or was he being serious? Abe had thought until that moment that Dominic's expressions were crude and easily discernable. Angry. Sad. Happy. Glad. Things that were clear-cut and easily told one from the other. But this. This subtly of expression, this mixing and matching tones with irony with whatever else threw him. His head tilted to the side and his brows knit together. But Dominic's expression remained implacably serene and serious.

"Now, I'm willing to overlook your obvious psychotic tendencies, but you're going to have to tone them down a little." And then he snickered. He snickered and laughed and slapped his knee because it was oh so funny to get Abe so worked up and then to suddenly make it like you hadn't done a thing. Yes. That really was the best sort of joke, wasn't it?

"Asshole!" Abe reached through the cold space between them and punched Dominic. And because that felt good, he then went to smear the sandwich across his shirt.

"No, no! We're going to need that!"

The tone, half-joking, half-serious gave Abe pause. Dominic's strangled laughter finally did subside and Abe managed to tuck his aggression back into himself. But in the meantime, something strange had happened. The somber dedication to eating had been replaced by something far more lighthearted. When had that happened? When had they come to any sort of peace treaty? Especially after Dominic had called him psychotic too. Abe's face hurt from his violent diatribe, but Dominic seemed far worse off than he did. He sat there holding his sides, puffing hard, trying to calm down, and eyes moist. His face remained very red beneath its tan complexion, making him look like a tomato left out in the sun too long and a loose strand of saliva dribbled at the corner of his mouth.

He looked like a fool.

"You're an idiot," Abe said gruffly, biting into the sandwich for lack of anything else to do. He watched Dominic's knee and the grass that jutted up on either side of it, at the edge of his sight, out of focus and blurry. Again, he was staring without staring, chewing in silence. Dominic must have agreed because he didn't disagree. Or maybe he was just sick of fighting, tired of being so contrary. Maybe he too was tired of the bickering. Abe swallowed and then took another bite, trying to stuff his mouth so that there wouldn't be time for talking. He was tired of the bickering, he knew. He couldn't take anymore of it. Every inch of his body, inside and out, tingled and hummed, as if it had been stretched beyond its limits and then left to slowly pull itself back together again. He felt lightheaded and off-balance; the cool quiet was a welcome relief.

He coughed when he saw Dominic rolling his pants back to his knees. Already, he'd chewed through half of his sandwich, and noticing this, he began to chew slowly. Watching Dominic pull the dark denim up the lengths of his legs, turning their light undersides outward into a tight cuff just below where the knee was. Dominic whistled as he did this, fingers worked quickly and nimbly. They were coarse and rough, Dominic's hands, and tan just like the rest of him. Large. Clumsy-looking, but they did small work so well that they seemed to fit Dominic in the way that they shouldn't really have fit him at all. Strange. Very strange.

"Hey, Abe," he said and Abe stopped chewing to look and to wait. "Do you hear that?" Did he hear what? Abe blinked then began to listen. Dominic puffed out his cheeks, and turned outward from their contained place on the hillside and toward the shimmering sea of faded green grass that was drying and wilting under the sun's heat. And sure enough, the faint sounds of voices began to rise just above the sound of the wind in the trees and in the grass. Abe's brows pulled together and rolled the rest of the sandwhich together and stuck it into his mouth. The voices were too distorted by distance and by the trees to really make out, but they were definitely voices. Loud and muffled. They shared a look and for the first time, it wasn't a look to convey an insult or communicate some dark, thunderous warning. It was a look of curiosity and Abe felt as if he could read Dominic's mind. Silently, wordlessly, obeying the unspoken agreement between them, they stood up and began walking toward the sound. Then, about half way, they broke out into a laughing run, bumping into each other, shoving off with shoulders and throwing elbows. There was the sound of groaning and grunting and Abe made a threat. Dominic laughed and Abe laughed and their laughter rose up through the trees. They crashed down through the dark fringe of low bushes and back on to the shady path, and then they ran on it, kicking dust up through the shadows as they sprinted. Long, graceful strides. A fluid run. And Dominic moved faster than his build suggested he could.

He was pressed up against Dominic's side when they came at a tree that made a fork in the road and they had to split up then but came together again, sliding, slipping, bouncing against each other, snatching limbs out of their way as they pushed steadily ahead and then down a sudden slope. They were sliding, rolling, laughing. And, finally, they ended in a heaving, sweating pile of limbs at the end of the slope, at the feet of a group of boys whose faces were distorted by the glare of the sun.

"Well, well," one of the voices said, distant and faraway to Abe's blood-filled ears, "look what we have here."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Okay. News. My laptop slowed down this morning so thumped it with my fist and then it stopped loading. GUH. I need anger management, yes, I know. But I found a place that could fix it so I'm going over there tomorrow. It shouldn't really affect my writing of this story, but if it does, I'll be sure to let you know via my profile. Hm. This chapter. I liked it. Some interesting stuff goes down, gasp, and I think, I HOPE you enjoy it. It's sort of long, but hey, it was necessary. Was happy to get this written way earlier than I thought I'd get it written, but since I'm on a new computer, the flow may not be as great as I had hoped/would have liked. Still, I like this chapter. As for reviews.... Glacial Eidolon, I responded to your review via PM already so I won't clutter up this space with that.

Question to the readers : Should I include little location indicators at the top of each chapter? I try to let people know where the characters are in the story, but I may need to be a little less sutble about it. FOR THE RECORD : THey are still on route 202, still about a day from Jubilife. They'll get there about noon the next day, I think. Or just before noon. But yeah. Should I?

Hm... I think that's it for the notes. Again, your thoughts and suggestions and all that are always welcome. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Lulz. I also hope this comes out at the end of the daily rush so it'll have time to sit at the top and catch people's attention. BUT, ALAS. All I can do is hope. AS I SAID BEFORE, ENJOY.

* * *

They had stumbled upon the one part of the entire route where trainers congregated with any sort of regularity. It should not have been surprising what they'd found since they had been running toward the sound of voices and the sound of fighting, but Abe still felt shocked to find other people out in the woods. Which in itself was quite strange given how often he himself wandered through the wilderness at the fringe of his hometown. People in a natural setting was not something that should have felt foreign to Abe's mind, but this whole scenario, this stumbling across other people, in what he for some reason had taken to be a deserted setting disconcerted him a great deal. Which is why when those there boys laughingly helped them to their feet, Abe was the one who stood up quickly and awkwardly by himself; it drew confused stares then questioning, raise brows at Dominic. Abe fidgeted, Dominic just grinned and shook their hands. Abe hated strangers. It wasn't a simple matter of not liking strangers or not being comfortable around strangers; Abe positively hated them, in every vague meaning assigned to that very powerful word. Just look at what Dominic had done to his life so far--it just went to show just how horrendously awful strangers could be for your mental health. Strangers, Abe felt, were trouble that hadn't happened yet, yet being the operative word as far as he was concerned.

There were three of them. One was short, had this neatly combed, slicked down red hair darkened by its dampness, and narrow, squinting green eyes. He looked sneaky, entirely and completely untrustworthy. Not that Abe would have trusted him anyway, he was a stranger. There was another one, though he was tall and pale and slathered in freckles. Millions of them on his arms and legs and every other part of him that Abe could see. But they didn't look like one large freckle. Just millions and billions of tiny brown splotches. His eyes were, unsurprisingly, brown. Yet, he didn't look young. His height took away any boyishness about him and instead gave the impression that he was a giant who had been bent to fit into a slightly smaller cage. His arms and his legs were thin, but so long that he looked like he could reach up and put out the sun's eye if he wanted. And the third was nothing out of the ordinary at all, which of course meant that he was something special. He looked to be about the same height as Dominic, but far less muscular and so less intimidating. Where he stood, Abe could not make out the color of his eyes, not that he cared. Standing there with his two friends, the boy looked painfully out of place, which maybe was why he was the leader. The other two had something in common in that they were abnormal, but this woefully ordinary boy had them beat with his normality. He was the one Abe liked least.

Dominic and the three boys stood aside from Abe, laughing and being social, two things that Abe had never really enjoyed doing anyway. His laugh was either too loud or too soft or too awkward or too hollow to be a good laugh. It always drew unwanted attention and made him feel slightly more self-conscious than usual. And as for being social, he'd never been too good at that, had he? Abe stood near them though, arms folded across his chest, resting against the bottom of his ribs, staring hard at them, trying too hard to be attentive. His expression, he assumed, was banal and calm, placid. He still felt light-headed from the running and was trying to get his heart rate to calm into a slightly more normal range, but Dominic was talking sixty-five miles a second, motioning energetically, and filling the air with the crackling sparkle of his charisma; Abe hated Dominic, it was simply a reminder of just why. But when he looked into the faces of the other boys, expecting to see glazed-over stares, he saw grins and smirks and smiles, their laughter actually sounded sincere : they liked Dominic? It was this fact that convinced him of their unworthiness. Of course they liked Dominic. They looked like people who would enjoy Dominic. Stupid. Dumb. Idiotic. Morons, all four of them. Sweat pooled at his lower back and his shirt was sticking to him uncomfortably. Why hadn't he rolled his jeans up too? Abe shifted, uncomfortable, quite uncomfortable.

They were boys from the school in Jubilife, taking a break from classes to rough it in the woods. Oh, that's pretty cool, roughing it, what an idea, huh, Abe? What did Abe think about roughing it? That it sounded like a waste of time, why give up the comforts of home to go piss in the woods? Because it's fun! So you like the woods, Dominic? Of course Dominic likes the woods, doesn't he look like someone who likes to wipe his ass with leaves? Oh, good one, Abe, aren't you clever, but where was that cleverness when you nearly pissed your pants because it was so dark? Oh, Dominic, you're exaggerating; hey guys, should we go? Haha, yeah, you got us, Abe is such a joker--

The conversation drifted on that same, puttering stream of little nothings about background and the menial details of lives were exchanged. Abe, however, offered nothing of himself while the others talked over themselves and laughed and made jokes out of nothing then laughed at the un-funny humor of it all. Abe, for one, found it to be the largest waste of time he'd ever taken part in and wanted very much for it to be over. His eyes wandered over their faces, finding the same happy, cheerful expression. Abe's lack of expression singled him out and isolated him in the group, imbuing the setting with a sort of subdued tension while he stood there with his arms folded, picking at loose threads on his sleeves. What were their plans once they got to Pastoria? Oh, nothing really, they'd probably turn around and walk all the way back. That sounded like a big waste of time; oh, what about the night life in Jubilife? The best, amazing music scene. And the garden district had the best burgers anywhere. Now that sounded amazing, didn't it, Abe? Abe? Abe?

Abe blinked, aware for the first time that he was being addressed directly. All four of them had stopped and stared at him. Their expressions told him that they didn't really care what his answer was, but that he was required to answer and the longer he took, the more resentful they would become. Because he was now holding up their perfectly vapid conversation with his haughty pensiveness. Couldn't he think of them a little bit? But this was his chance to escape, to excuse himself. The pressure from outside of himself and from inside of himself to sink back into the obscure background of the conversation rendered him speechless. And the boys grinned nervously, not really knowing what to say or to do when confronted with his gaping, silent ape of a boy. Dominic raised his brow, not really surprised, but not really believing what he was seeing. Abe? Silent? Not talking? Not even to insult them? Abe could see the insinuations building behind Dominic's eyes, could see his lips twitching into a bemused grin. He swallowed.

"Huh, sorry, guess I wasn't listening," he muttered in defeat. The boys laughed again. Oh, that's all right. Nothing to worry about. Oh, Dominic needed to definitely stop by the school at some point for a proper tour of the city. Sure, sure, not like there was anything else to do. Abe, again, sank to the outskirts of the conversation, not really listening again and the boys, wary of another snag, maneuvered their talk around Abe, sparing him only occasional pitying glances. As he walked just a little ways from them to examine a very interesting group of rocks, he began to mock them in his mind. OH, Abe, poor Abe. Poor guy can't even keep up. Why doesn't he just go on home and leave the big boys to their chest-thumping. And Dominic. Abe sent a narrow-eyed stare over his shoulder at Dominic to see if he'd wither and die on the spot. Dominic was laughing and going along with all of it, completely willing to exclude him from all conversation like he wasn't even there. Dominic probably wished that he wasn't. But oh well, let Dominic wish. At least he didn't have to sit there and pretend to listen anymore. He was near enough to catch occasional words like "cool" and "just wait until you see--" and the very rare "so what do you think about--". Not that they cared what anyone thought, they just wanted a moment to catch their breath while giving the illusion of being thoughtful. He stooped to pick up a few of the coarse stones and turn them over in his hands. He sneered to the rocks, making them his confidantes.

"'Yeah, Dominic,'" he whispered to the rocks, imitating the tall, dumb one who agreed with everything the average one said, "'we'll show you how to eat and drink and sleep like a complete social robot. Just wait and see, you'll love not thinking for yourself.'" Then, snickering, he dropped his voice and octave and become Dominic, "'Hey! That sounds great, I've already got that first part down, I'm great at not thinking.'" Then, he held up the smallest rock and pointed it at the rocks in his other hands and made his voice high and whiney, "'Oh, Dominic, you're so funny, you should come live with us forever and ever and ever so that Abe can have some peace of mind.'" He laughed loudly enough that time to make the other boys notice and when he felt their eyes on his back, he gulped. The rocks dropped softly into the grass and slowly stood while the other boys made their way over. Dominic followed solemnly behind the other three, head cast down slightly, his shoulders tense. The tall one and the short one had red, angry faces, but their leader was smiling calmly, happily.

"What's so funny, guy?" The leader asked in his warm voice.

"He's making fun of us," the short one said loudly, attempting to get around the leader at Abe, but he was held back by the taller one, who didn't look too pleased but wasn't quite sure what was going on. "He thinks he's so much better than us. Well, guy, you ain't. At all." He would have said more, but their leader, still smiling, just raised a hand and shrugged.

"Come on, Joe, I'm sure he doesn't think that." He stepped close enough to Abe to touch his shoulder and to give Abe his reassuring smile. He was close enough, also, to communicate with his eyes that there was only one acceptable answer to this question, and that any other answer would have dire consequences. They were blue. Dark blue. Dark and expressive. Abe glanced at Dominic, whose face was impassive and bored. But his eyes were also hard and told Abe which answer he should give.

"Well," Abe said with a smile in his voice, casually sliding the boy's hand from his shoulder, "everyone's entitled to an opinion, right?" He smiled as brightly as he could, his stomach sucking into itself. He had tried to make it a joke and had failed. He knew it. He read it in the subtly shifting lines in the boy's face as he stepped back and folded his hands in front of him. Shit, Abe thought. Shit. But his jaw did not tighten nor did he show any other sign of acknowledging that he had just offended them. It would be better if he feigned ignorance.

"Right, guy. Right." The boy smiled, but Joe made another move to break loose from the hold of Freckles and Abe again swallowed thickly. "Say, Dominic, do you think that?" Casually, easily he addressed Dominic, as if he hadn't been talking to Abe at all just a few seconds before. Strangely, it hurt to be dismissed so easily. The boy smiled and Abe saw Dominic shrug.

"Think what? That everyone gets an opinion. I don't know, I guess. Fair is fair."

"No, no. That Abe thinks he's better than us?"

"Oh, that. Well," Dominic smiled faintly, staring at Abe over the boy's shoulder. Accusation filled his eyes and Abe squirmed uncomfortably. The other boys were watching him still, making him feel like at any minute, they'd reach out and choke him until he stopped breathing. Or worse, beat him into a meaty pulp. The tall one looked a little tired of holding on to his friend and the short one looked as ready to fight as he ever had. The leader, as usual, was smiling, waiting for Dominic's answer. "I guess I don't really know what Abe thinks." This was accompanied by another shrug and a growing grin. "He's a mystery to me."

"Oh, I see." The boy tapped his finger against his lips and turned his coldly cheerful expression back to Abe, "Thanks, Dominic." He clapped his hands together. The sound of it made Abe jump. "So! I guess that means, Abe, that no one here really knows you." The short one finally managed to get his arm loose and moved to stand at the right hand of the other boy, his young face pulled into a furious, expression. The leader went on with a slightly quizzical expression. "See, the guys and I," he motioned to include the boys and Dominic, " have been getting to know each other. But you… you…" he wagged his finger at Abe, giving his head a rueful little shake, "you haven't really been sharing much, have you?" He raised a brow. What that a rhetorical question? Abe's mouth quivered and he was about o answer before he was cut off, "no. You haven't." Brusque, curt. For the first time, something other than hurt friendliness. "You've been a little frosty to my friends and me. Now, why is that, I wonder."

Abe gaped, tried to thin of something to say. He twisted his hands around his shirt's edge. The boy was watching him closely. "I…"

"'Do think that I'm better than you guys, Colbert,'" the boy completed with a grim nod. The short one snickered, the tall one smirked, and Dominic just sighed, obviously not interested. Then the boy was smiling again and rubbing his hands together, "That's all you had to say, Abe. I appreciate your honesty." His grin was back, but this time it wasn't an imitation. It was predatory. "This is what's going to happen," he continued, "You're going to prove to us just how much better than us you are because, guy, I don't believe it." He stopped rubbing his hands together long enough to step forward and lightly rap against Abe's ribs with his fist. Did he enjoy the feel of Abe's blood running cold in his veins? The look in his eyes said yes; Abe bit his jaw and curled a fist. Then he turned around and nodded to the short one. What? He wasn't going to battle? Abe stared in confusion. He had thought that…

"So, hot shot. You ready?" A cruel, cruel voice. Not at all as high pitched as Abe had imagined. Cold air rippled throughout his chest and it was a few moments before he could say anything at all to the boy.

"Yeah, sure," he croaked. To his surprise, Dominic was staring on with interest now. He sent the boy a cold stare. This was all his fault. And when the other three boys moved to the other side of the clearing to talk over strategy, leaving Dominic and Abe alone, he made sure to tell him that.

"Asshole!" Abe shoved him and Dominic took a stumbling, laughing step backward. "Way to help, Dominic, really!" He seethed under his breath and stood making fists and trying to reduce Dominic to ash with his mind.

"Oh no, buddy. That's all you." Dominic was still laughing, still entirely absorbed in himself. Abe hit his arm again.

"You threw me under the bus!" Abe hit him yet again for good measure, watching the boys talk among the themselves. Disconcerted, he groaned. "What am I going to do, Dominic?"

Dominic stood behind him, staring at the boys. And, predictably, he shrugged. "Well, my guess is, you're going to battle," he noted dryly then with a snort, "and hopefully win. Otherwise, things are probably going to be pretty awkward for you."

Had that really just come out of Dominic's mouth? Really? Truly? It was probably the most cold-blooded thing that he had ever heard. Abe grunted and pulled out his two poke balls and a few pieces of loose lint. "You are the worst partner anyone has ever had." Abe said this completely seriously, but didn't look up from his poke balls to let Dominic know just how much he hated him in that moment. This was bad. Very, very bad. There was Poliwag. But, honestly it was Poliwag. He frowned. The Abra was still new, too new to be counted on, but Poliwag wasn't any better. And what if the guy expected him to battle all three of them at the same time? One of them he could probably take, even with Poliwag, but all three was just asking too much. Even for him. He glanced at Dominic, who was grinning at him and looking as useless as usual. With another groan, he made his selection and turned to the boys. They were several yards away, decent battle distance. He noticed for the first time that the grass had been worn away into an almost perfect oval shape clearing where loose soil peeked out beneath the patchy green and where fat stones basked beneath a yellow sun. A few trees lined the area, but it was mainly this improvised battle field. It all amounted to the same thing; no water for Poliwag to be even remotely useful.

"I wouldn't go with Abra," Dominic commented snidely. Abe looked at him with a dumb expression. "Just saying." Yet another shrug. His second least favorite Dominic mannerism.

"And I suppose you want me to use Poliwag so that I'll finally see its worth and change my cruel, cruel ways." His voice was cool and dry, and he had his brow cocked just right; it was the perfect expression to communicate his sarcasm. The last thing he wanted was more miscommunication.

"No, not at all." Dominic said, dusting off his shoulder. "I'd hate to think that you're capable of seeing the good in anything or anyone. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. No, I'm just making a suggestion. Poliwag, for some reason," he picked off a bit of grass and then scratched his sweaty arm, "likes you whereas Abra… well, Abra doesn't really know you, does it?" Superior, accusing, his tone made Abe want to punch his face directly through to his teeth.

"Shut your face, asshole," Abe snapped and turned back to his fidgeting and his waiting.

"Okay!" The call from across the field came. "We're ready. You and Joe are going to go at it." Suddenly, there was too much saliva in his mouth and he thought he'd be sick. "Go on Joe," Abe heard the leader, Colbert, tell the short one, Joe. See, he could remember names. A shame that humility hadn't been there before he'd gotten himself into this mess.

"Either stop giggling like a moron or go stand somewhere else," Abe ground out. Dominic sat down, still snickering, but more quietly. He propped his head up on his fists and watched the scene unfolding keenly. Abe thought he preferred the giggling to the sudden attentiveness. He clumsily fumbled for Poliwag's poke ball and lobbed it high. "Might as well get this over with," he sighed as the ball split open and the white light fell in a shimmering cascade to the ground.

"Poli!" It excitedly turned to Abe, happy. Abe returned its enthusiasm with a cynical deadpan.

"Try not to screw this one up, Poliwag." Poliwag demurred, and nodded slowly, shakily. Abe heard Dominic sigh behind him, but he didn't have time for the self-righteous Dominic who could do no wrong. "At least turn the right way." He felt his expression turn tense and Poliwag, giving an abrupt squeak turned to face the group of boys. Joe was casually strolling into the place while Colbert stood with his arms folded, body language tense and the tall one whose name Abe still did not know sat as Dominic did, looking bored.

"Come on out, Budew!" A Budew? Really? Abe frowned as the boy threw his ball hard at the field and as it split open mid-flight to violently belch white light forward. Budew were gentle, pleasant creatures. They weren't really Pokemon that he associated with people as fidgety and high-energy as the short boy. He'd expected a Shinx. Abe sucked at his lip and made a 'huh' sound, trying to work out the difference between what he had expected and what he now faced. The Budew landed a foot and a half or so away from Poliwag and scowled. It made a mocking sound and Abe had no choice but to recant his previous thoughts; this Budew suited its trainer perfectly. One look at it and he already didn't like the thing. It looked a little wild. Poliwag, again, retreated a step and Joe must have saw it because he quickly pointed and began to shout commands, "Absorb!" And the Budew wasted no time.

It leapt quickly and snapped open its petals, aiming its attack at Poliwag, which promptly began to quiver and shake, obviously afraid.

"Damn it, Poliwag, use bubble!" Abe countered and Poliwag did just that. But it missed, and sent its pressured burst of blue bubbles just to the left of the Budew, which then clamped its bud on Poliwag and began to suck. The pair of tangled Pokemon began to glow as energy slowly left Poliwag and entered Budew and Poliwag wiggled and made a horrible fuss, let loose cries of "Poli!" and "wag!" Abe couldn't believe he'd let Dominic talk him into this. Abra would have been better by far, "Come on Poliwag, you're slippery for crying out loud!" Poliwag, after being reminded, did in fact remember that it was slippery and with the added moisture of its nervousness, it slid with a pop from between Budew's petals.

"Budew, stun spore!" Budew pushed itself forward, going after Poliwag with its glittering brown pollen. Abe grunted and watched as Poliwag hopped along in a circle, trying to avoid the powder. "Keep it up, Budew!" Joe and his incredibly aggressive Budew were not going to make this easy, apparently.

"Poliwag, bubble!" Poliwag swung about and loosed the bubbles through the brown cloud. The bubbles darted through the shroud of brown, halting its undulating tide and dispelling it mostly. The second round of bubbles moved through the cleared space directly at Budew, which had not been able to stop, and set it retreating a step before it remembered it was a grass type and as such loved water.

Joe then instructed his Budew to use Absborb. Just like that. As if Poliwag had not just pelted his Budew, he had instructed his Pokemon to advance through the attack. It came upon Poliwag, quickly, before Abe could tell Poliwag what to do, and had it in another tight grip, sucking the energy from the little blue thing. It squirmed and wriggled, but Budew held strong, siphoning out energy as best it could while Abe stared on, feeling mainly helpless, but a little angry too. Or was it a little helpless and mainly very angry. Joe, across the field, was laughing, loudly. And the only sound that could be heard were Poliwag's screams and Joe's laughter.

"Poliwag," Abe grunted after getting more than a little fed-up. "Water Sport!"

"What's that? Water Sport?" Joe drawled sarcastically as Poliwag stopped its crying long enough to send its fount stream upward. It came sprinkling back down, coating both Pokemon in its drizzle, wetting them, dampening them. The water soaked through Poliwag's pores and made it slippery and slick. So that it popped out from Budew from the sheer force of Budew's clamping. It landed on the ground, leaping from foot to foot in a sprightly fashion, obviously amused.

"Ice beam," Abe croaked before anyone could figure out what had just happened and in the last dregs of the water sport trickling down, Poliwag spat forth blue energy; it snaked and weaved and froze the fake rain into ice. It cut through the moist air left flittering, outward-swirling flakes and Budew, caught off-guard from the abrupt loss of the Poliwag, was thrown on to its back by the force of the blow. Joe let out a strangled, surprised sound and scrambled for a way to retaliate.

"Stun spore!"

Budew was on its feet a half-second after impact, strewing its powder, directing it at Poliwag, which at Abe's request let out a bubble which again dissipated the stun spore. It had been clever and a little bit lucky to use Water Sport to both heal and free Poliwag and then to use the close range of Absorb to their advantage to use an Ice Beam after dampening Budew. But now they were again on even terms and Abe wasn't so sure he had that many bright ideas left. A breeze came upon them. It swirled through the space between Budew and Poliwag and sent the grass swaying this way then that. Movement was imminent, they both knew that, but were unwilling to bend to that fact just yet.

"Ice beam… didn't expect that," Joe said with feigned indifference. Or maybe it was actual indifference, Abe wasn't sure. He didn't feel lightened by the compliment, that was for sure. His entire body felt strained and he was on the tips of his toes, it seemed, ready for the next blow when it came. Poliwag stood facing him and Budew stood facing Joe, their Pokemon had swapped places and now he took the time to note any sort of weaknesses in Budew. Sadly, he didn't know what weaknesses looked like. Abe saw Joe smile.

"Razor leaf!"

"Poliwag, bubble!"

Poliwag's body expanded and out the bubbles came flooding; Budew twisted and slung its leaves hard, so that the air was full of their slicing, whistling noise. The collision peppered the ground with wet, green mulch and then Budew was leaping, launching a second wave and Poliwag was rolling, trying to evade them. Budew's experience and improvisational skills had put him on the defensive, Abe realized grimly and bite the inside of his mouth. Poliwag did its best to avoid a direct impact but it wasn't' quick enough or agile enough to avoid damage entirely. Budew's onslaught was heavy and at the same time, so nimble. The leaves came seemingly from every direction, honing in on Poliwag and scraping up its back and down its fronts and against its sides. It was tiring, its movements were slowing, it was lost and alone and without help; Abe had abandoned it.

"Poli!" Poliwag landed with a damp thud at Abe's feet and he stared down at its scratched skin as it labored for breath. Budew landed neatly in front of Joe, who smirked. Abe bit down hard. He balled a damp fist that felt more like jelly. All of the tension had gone out of his body, he'd lost his desire to fight entirely.

"Get up, Poliwag," he sighed. "Get up, we might as well let them finish us." Dominic snorted, then grunted, and finally just stood up. Abe was snatched up and brought very close to Dominic's face.

Anger had transformed it and exaggerated its rugged wildness. Abe felt his stomach tighten. Dominic's breath was moist on his face and washed over him like a wave of anger given physical substance. He felt it quaking in Dominic's fists and heard the straining of his collar under Dominic's hands. "Let me--"

"Shut it," he snarled, eyes narrowing. "Shut it and listen." And Abe did listen, he grew still in Dom's hands and tried to mask his fear with the cold shadow of apathy. "You may be beyond saving and a waste of time. I'm not going to argue with you on that. But that Poliwag? That Poliwag you've basically left to fend for itself in a battle that was your fault to begin with," he made sure to emphasize the 'your',"isn't And it's not only irresponsible, it's offensive to the whole training community for you to put that kind of burden on a Pokemon. SO. " He got a little spit on Abe with that one and dropped him neatly back to his feet, "You're going to suck it up and win this thing." He smoothed out the wrinkles in Abe's shirt and turned him around, as if Abe was a child, a child who didn't know any better.

Humiliation. No other word for it.

Not even the boys on the other side of the field could say anything in face of it. Abe felt hot tears sting his eyes as he curled his hands again into tight fists. "Poliwag," he growled, "Up." Poliwag rose shakily to its feet, giving a weak sound of acknowledgement as it turned haggard and weary to face the Budew. Which didn't seem diminished at all by the awkward scene they had just witnessed. Everyone and everything stood in dumbfounded stillness; emotional decimation always brought a halt to things though, didn't it?

Where did Dominic get off talking to him that way? Asshole. "Bubble," Abe shouted and grunted as Poliwag complied with a fresh stream of bubbles, issued directly toward the Budew, which countered with a razor leaf. As the leaves came whirling on to Poliwag, Abe sucked in hard and stamped his foot. What a bastard. "Dodge those." Another barked command; Poliwag tucked and rolled forward, avoiding the most of the leaves and springing to its feet. Budew was ready, heaving another barrage of leaves and so the intricate dance of razor leaf and dodge began anew. "Ice beam!"

The rhythm of the attack sequence broke a minute and a half later with an out of nowhere ice beam that shot through the leaves with ease and bore down on the flatfooted Budew. "Huh?" Joe was thrown. "Try to dodge that!" Budew tucked and rolled, trying to mimic Poliwag's attempts, but Poliwag's weakened Ice Beam faltered and dropped in its forward progression, luckily snagging the Budew in the side as it attempted to roll. It was then propelled backward like a skidding stone before it caught a loose rock and popped up. "Budew! Absorb!" Budew wearily complied and dragged itself in the direction of Poliwag; Poliwag dodged it, but the Budew had moved in close range and so with a flare of its opened bud, it managed to maneuver Poliwag into an awkward position. Abe saw this coming, however, and grunted another order. This time, bubble. Poliwag bent forward and breathed in, this time making itself too large to be attached to. And so even though it could not dodge, it still managed to escape damage. The bubble hit the Budew square in the face and Poliwag was pushed up and out from the Budew, landing somewhat sloppily nearby, safely out of range. Abe sighed in relief and Joe just muttered some more.

Poliwag's breathing remained labored and very much uneven; it was nearing the end of its line. But Abe was pleased to see that the Budew was very much the same. Or. He would have felt pleased if he was capable of feeling any sort of positive emotion after being humiliated so thoroughly. Instead, he ground his foot into the ground and chewed a bloody line against the inside of his jaw. His nerves were shot and he was shaking. But Joe, across the field didn't look so great either. His face was red and pinched and his eyes were like bits of glass glinting in the sun. Abe sighed and turned back to his Poliwag, which was drooping. He willed it to stay standing. Another silence came to the area, a breathing silence. Which suited Abe fine. The longer they went on this way, the more recovery time Poliwag had.

"Absorb!"

"Bubble!"

They were back to this again. Budew moved through the bubble stream and it was then that Abe knew that he'd made a horrible mistake. Poliwag tried and tried and tried, but Budew managed somehow to avoid all of the bubbles, and moved steadily closer. "Poliwag, dodge!" His voice rasped, but it was no use. Budew attached itself to Poliwag and began to drain away its life.

It was over.

He grit his teeth and lowered his head. Dominic made a disgusted sound and kicked a rock. His head hurt from strategies thought up and hurriedly discarded. What was he supposed to do? Poliwag's cries were at first strident but then gradually faded into a sad, soft whimpering. But he couldn't get himself to look. The feeling of failure came back to mind and he again thought of that first battle with Dominic. He had done better this time at least. With a sigh, he lifted his head and made to recall Poliwag.

"What?" His mouth dropped wide. There. On the ground. Not moving. Was Budew.

For a second, he wasn't sure what he was looking at, he thought that maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. So he rubbed his eyes and blinked, incredulous. What? Poliwag stood panting, heaving over the Budew, its body bruised and scratched, its eyes defiant, and its spiral gliding into gentle stillness, purple light fading slowly away. "What…" He trailed off.

"Hypnosis," Dominic commented cheerily, grinning. "Looks like Poliwag learned hypnosis. And just in time too, lucky."

Joe too seemed at a loss for words. But his lack of speech was more out of anger than anything else. "That's cheating!" He howled. And then he was moving across the field, charging Abe. Abe watched him come with dumb numbness, still not sure what was going on. It was Dominic who moved in front of him and caught Joe with extended hands.

"Hold on, buddy. He beat you. Fair and square, it's done." Joe, however, had different thoughts. He tried and tried to get around Dominic, but Dominic stood firm; Abe just kept staring. Even when Poliwag came over to him and stared up at him happily, seeking validation. Dominic was still trying to calm down Joe when the other two boys finally made their way over; the tall one, Freckles, stopped to pick up Budew, cradling it near to his chest, his expression grimly sober.

"Well, Abe," Colbert said with a sigh, "Looks like you won after all." It was far from sincere, but Abe managed to look at him though it was with the same vacant expression. Had he really won? Really?

His smile, when it did come, was cocky. "Yeah. Guess I did." He pulled out Poliwag's ball and pointed it at the Pokemon then said, loftily, "Return, Poliwag." Poliwag's expression wilted and Dominic, who had stopped holding back Joe, frowned darkly.

Colbert, however, remained completely unruffled by this. Said simply, with his same cheerful, chilling expression, "Well, congratulations. Win some lose some, I guess. Maybe next time." The last part was said without the smile. Joe was primed for an explosion, but Freckles worriedly rocked the Budew back and forth. Which Abe found to be strange and with his same smirking expression, raised a brow.

"You're holding on to Joe's Budew pretty tightly there… don't you think you ought to give it back to him?"

At this, Joe, Colbert, and Freckles all stared at Abe as if he were the dumbest moron on the face of the planet. Freckles clenched his jaw and with a flick his head to the side, removed his hair from his eyes. "This is my, Budew," he said gently, cradling it closer to himself. "And she's only sleeping; she'll be fine… right?" He turned to Joe, and Joe's expression turned into a bright smile.

"Sure she will, pal! Thanks for letting me use her, sorry that she got so banged up…" Joe trailed off when he realized that Freckles was too focused on his Budew to hear. He took instead to scratching nervously at his neck and looking at Abe as indirectly as possible. Dominic stood with his hands folded behind his neck again, looking like his usual bored self though Abe could still feel his anger seeping out through his skin.

"Well, guys, I think we're going to go," Colbert said after taking a long look at Joe and Freckles. Then, shaking Dominic's hand, he said, "It was nice meeting you, look us up when you get to Jubilife." To Abe, he said nothing, and quietly, he and his friends walked away. Freckles, however, did turn to glance at Abe and Dominic before vanishing through the underbrush. Abe didn't know what to make of the look he'd received. But to be fair, he didn't really have time to go over it because the moment they were alone, Dominic exploded.

"You are the most selfish, self-centered son of a bitch on the planet, Abe." He said all of this calmly as if it were a part of normal conversation, and as if it were absolute fact. He stood studying the place where the boys had vanished; Abe blinked in surprise then in anger.

"It's not my fault! I didn't ask for a battle!"

"Didn't ask for it? Didn't ask for it?" Dominic's chest swelled, but just as soon as he had decided to let out a stream of profanities, he decided against it and let out instead a large, almost painful sigh. "I'm done, Abe. Done for the day. Let's just get back up the hill and get our stuff and go." Dominic said this bitterly and Abe was about to retort, but was able to say nothing because Dominic was walking away from him again. "ANd for your own safety, you had better stay a full two feet behind me. I can't be responsible for what I'll do to you if you're within range and decide to say something else that stupid."

Despite having just won, Abe realized, he had yet again ended up losing to Dominic. It did his mood no favors and they returned to their hillside in glowering, bitter silence.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay. So, I know that this probably isn't what you were expecting since you probably came here looking for a story and this is definitely not a story. ACTUALLY. Well, I guess, it could be counted as a story. So, here's what's been happening and what's going to happen in the next week or so. You guys know that my laptop broke. I think I mentioned that in my notes in Chapter 8, but it broke again. YES. I got it out on Friday and then, AND THEN, I had to take it back because something went crazy with it and it was just... ugh. SO. I get it back on Saturday. THEN. Saturday night, my glasses broke and I've spent the past thirty-six hours trying to fix them and they're okay right now, but they're just not fun to look out of. Everything's clear, just I somehow managed to get super glue on the lenses and things got smudged and I'll make a long and uncomfortable short and just say that I REALLY need to get some new ones. Which my mom is looking into, but it won't be easy because this is America and America hates us below-the-poverty-line people who have no insurance. Joy.

Why am I telling you all of that? Just so you know where I'm coming from when I say that I won't be writing Don't Catch a Cold anymore.

GASP.

Now that we've gotten over the collective gasping, let me explain. I was intending to rewrite the first chapters anyway due to extremely bad writing, but then all of this bad stuff happened to me and I decided that I was just going to extend the small tweaking into full-on rewriting. There were a few of you guys who mentioned that there wasn't a lot of background info and that echoed a few of my own sentiments about the quality of the story and the pacing of events. It all came down to the fact that I just wasn't satisfied with the story and with everything that was happening or how I was writing it, to be honest. SO. I decided that I am going to rewrite it. Don't worry! Abe will still be there. And so will Dominic. And Poliwag! Poliwag, yay! But the shape of the story will be different, better I hope. There will be more depth to the plot and to the people. None of this rushed, "OH, HEY, I'M GOING ON A JOURNEY" that I did mainly because I didn't know any better back then. Now, I do. Now I realize that I can write a story in a way that doesn't have anything to do with the whole "OH, QUEST, LET'S ROLL, HOMIES." Hopefully, the realism will be more endearing and not make you hate me.

So. Abe. Dominic. More of that. You'll find out more about Abe and the town he's from too! And I have a better idea about the whole concept of Pokemon-giving-out-ness. Essentially, you're going to get a full picture of Abe's life, not just little hints and meager details. What I'm trying to do is FLESH OUT the story I started with the first version of Don't Catch a Cold and really bring you readers into what's happening in not only Abe's life but the life of his whole town as that's very important. You're probably thinking, "Well, it's just a hometown, who cares?" The answer to that is that I care. Honest, I think a sense of place is very important to this story because that was in a lot of ways my whole purpose in Don't Catch a Cold. To show the impact of place on a person and how our homes shape us sometimes beyond the altering of other places. I wanted to bring a greater sense of identity to the towns and to the whole region of Sinnoh because in the anime and the video games, you barely get a feel FOR ANYTHING. The hometown will be very, very important to this story as opposed to something quickly left as in the first version of this story. Yep. Expanding and extending the background facets of the story into things of greater, more deserved importance.

Quick little snippets of what you can expect in the new story that is really the old story just better :

Pine River -- Abe's hometown and the place where a large part of the story takes place. Inspired by this trip I took on Saturday with my family. Just all came together rather beautifully. A small but thriving village across the river from Sandgem town. Small place, big drama.

Abe -- He'll be a more rounded character for sure, with more than just his snarky side. BUT. Make no mistake, he'll still be Abe. Just as insecure and "oh woe, I am such a victim" as he was in the first version. More insight into the reason he is the way he is though, so I hope that's a reason to continue reading.

Dominic -- I'm tweaking him. I just don't know how yet. I DO know that there will be a slight edge to him. Something dark and dangerous lingering in his past that colors all of his actions and his thoughts. He IS a stranger, after all, so of course he's bound to be dark and mysterious; look for a slightly darker Dominic, but don't rule out his sparkling humor and other attractive features either. I think he'll be more realistic. Deeper. More than just the silly, practical foil to Abe's irrationality.

Plot -- DRAMA! OMG! DRAMA. I don't want to give away too much, but old family ties and things done in the past have an ugly way of impacting the dynamics of the present. There are things that time only makes worse, and the complex, intricate doings and the scandals between prominent families on a small river island are such things. No character is so minor that he or she won't in some way play a role in the persecutions, trials, and tribulations of the people within the borders of Pine River. The plot won't be your typical action-adventure thriller. Actually, there might be action, just not the BIG EXPLOSIONS KIND. THOUGH. There might be some of that too. Look for the plot to be more complex and richer.

Writing -- Better. Not as ornate, not as flowery. More direct. Detailed and meticulous. I really want to bring the place alive for you since it's a made-up place. The people within it and everything, I want to lay out for examination because every part of the village is important (CHEESY, BUT TRUE).

Other stuff -- Uhm. I don't have one yet. PLEASE HELP ME? If you want. I'm 1300 words into Chapter 1 and I have a ways to go before I'm done. Should be out by the end of the week, IF NOTHING ELSE TERRIBLE HAPPENS TO ME. Ahem. But yes. I'm hard at work tyring to make this the best it can be and to be honest, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE how it's coming along so far. So. Please don't give up on me! Or the story! All of your favorite characters are coming back, and they'll be new and sparkly and better. Ahem. So, yes.

That's all I wanted to say. If you have any questions and/or suggestions, you can send me a message on here and there is contact info on my profile so have a gander at that. I AM SO SORRY, BUT I THINK IT WILL ALL WORK OUT.


End file.
